Recovered Voices Symposium October 2016 Renan Koen

Renan Koen
Lecture-Performance
"Positive Resistance on the Musical Path"
"The composers Gideon Klein (1919-1945), Viktor Ullmann (1898-1944) and Pavel Haas (1899-1944) were able to transform the highly disciplined musical training they received into powerful, positive resistance during the period of their imprisonment at Theresienstadt. When I analyzed their works in detail, I traced a shared ability to transform themselves in the midst of fierce atrocities and hardships. The discipline of their family upbringing, their geographical and cultural milieus, and the strict discipline required by their musical studies enabled them to discover and solidify the positive resistance within themselves and create their own unique musical expressions.
As a musician and music-therapist myself, I was fascinated with the examples I studied, leading me to ask myself this question: How can we create and hold onto such positive resistance through music or through our musical skills and create our own personal and unique responses? In my presentation, I will both refer to the life stories and works of Klein and Ullmann in the light of the question I pose, and also perform select movements from the piano sonatas of both composers."
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The Ziering-Conlon Initiative for Recovered Voices at the Colburn School