Liberated Voices

James Conlon, curator and host
Cori Ellison, curator, dramaturg, and host

Maia Aramburú, soprano
Kaylyn Taylor Baldwin, soprano
Rachel Blaustein, soprano
Alice Chung, mezzo-soprano
Elise Miller, mezzo-soprano
Evan Katsefes, tenor
Dylan Morrongiello, tenor
Emilio Vasquez, baritone

Collaborative Pianists:
Matthew Gemmill
Ye In Kwak
Lucas Nogara
Michael Sikich
Ting Ting Wong

Eighty years ago, the concentration camps of the Third Reich were liberated, but not before two generations of Jewish, immigrant, activist, and minority musicians were suppressed or silenced. Those who lost their productivity or their lives were seemingly fated to be forgotten after the war.

But in the decades since, much music thought to have been lost has been rediscovered, and new creations of the captive artists have joined the canon. Meanwhile, the music of Hollywood and Broadway would not have flourished without the artists who were fortunate to escape the Nazi regime and find refuge in the United States.

Whether experiencing their darkest hours or the brightest of spotlights, these artists of the first half of the 20th century shared a creative spark that reveals and revels in the inspirational spirit of the time. And in their own way, each work is a song of resistance against totalitarianism.

In “Liberated Voices,” James Conlon and Cori Ellison honor the lives forever changed by the Nazi concentration camps with a program of stories and performances of the composers who fled or fell victim to them. Many of these artists were among the first — and can now be heard and remembered among the most engaging and imaginative — to fuse jazz into classical symphony and song, producing both brilliant art music and a golden era of tunes for the theatrical stage and screen.

I. “This song was written with blood”: Songs of the Jewish Prisoners

Traditional: Ani Ma’amin Rachel Blaustein, soprano; Evan Katsefes, tenor

Abraham Brudno: Unter dayne vayse shtern (arr. Weiner) Rachel Blaustein, soprano; Matthew Gemmill, piano

Abraham Brudno: Friling (arr. Kon) Evan Katsefes, tenor; Matthew Gemmill, piano

Dmitry Pokrass: Zog Nit Keinmol (arr. Weiner) Rachel Blaustein, soprano; Evan Katsefes, tenor; Matthew Gemmill, piano

II. “See how we tremble for life”: Great Voices Stilled in the Camps

Gideon Klein: from Three Songs for High Voice and Piano, op. 1 Vodotrysk Polovina života Kaylyn Taylor Baldwin, soprano; Ye In Kwak, piano

Hans Krása: Five Songs for Voice and Piano, op. 4 Dylan Morrongiello, tenor; Ye In Kwak, piano

Viktor Ullmann: Brezulinka (Drei Jiddische Lieder) Maia Aramburú, soprano; Lucas Nogara, piano

Pavel Haas: from Four Songs on Chinese Poetry Zaslechl jsem divoké husy V bambusovém haji Probděná noc Emilio Vasquez, baritone; Rachel Blaustein, soprano; Ting Ting Wong, piano; Matthew Gemmill, piano

Ilse Weber: Songs Der Regen rinnt Alice Chung, mezzo-soprano; Ting Ting Wong, piano Ich wandre durch Teresienstadt Evan Katsefes, tenor; Matthew Gemmill, piano Guten Tag (Dobrý den) Kaylyn Taylor Baldwin, soprano; Ye In Kwak, piano Wiegala Alice Chung, mezzo-soprano; Ting Ting Wong, piano

–Intermission–

III. “Do not destroy me on that day”: Gay, Romani, and Catholic comrades

Arno Billing: Das lila Lied Dylan Morrongiello, tenor; Alice Chung, mezzo-soprano; Maia Aramburú, soprano; Ting Ting Wong, piano

Max Hansen: War’n Sie schon mal in mich verliebt? Dylan Morrongiello, tenor; Ye In Kwak, piano

Růžena Danielová: Aušvicate hi kher báro Alice Chung, mezzo-soprano; Ting Ting Wong, piano

Giuseppe Verdi: Requiem: Recordare Maia Aramburú, soprano; Alice Chung, mezzo-soprano; Lucas Nogara, piano

IV. “Who soweth in tears shall reap in gladness”: Emigré Composers

Erich Wolfgang Korngold: Sonett für Wien Rachel Blaustein, soprano; Matthew Gemmill, piano

Darius Milhaud: from Liturgie Comtadine Adonai Bekol Schophar Schanah Schanah Emilio Vasquez, baritone; Elise Miller, mezzo-soprano; Ting Ting Wong, piano; Michael Sikich, piano

Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco: from Three Sephardic Songs Ven y veràs Una noche yo me armi Elise Miller, mezzo-soprano; Michael Sikich, piano

Kurt Weill: “After the Destruction” from The Eternal Road Evan Katsefes, tenor; Maia Aramburú, soprano; Kaylyn Taylor Baldwin, soprano; Rachel Blaustein, soprano; Alice Chung, mezzo-soprano; Elise Miller, mezzo-soprano; Dylan Morrongiello, tenor; Emilio Vasquez, baritone; Matthew Gemmill, piano

Program and featured artists are subject to change.