26 | NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC Notes on the Program By James M. Keller, Program Annotator, The Leni and Peter May Chair A rnold Schoenberg was born a Jew in 1874, converted to Lutheranism in 1898, and remained a spiritual person whose belief sys- tem was not closely linked to any organized religion. During the 1920s he worked on (but left incomplete) two works with explicitly Jewish themes — the oratorio Die Jakobs- leiter (Jacob’s Ladder, 1917–22) and the opera Moses und Aron (Moses and Aaron, 1928–32) — and wrote a prose drama titled Der bibli- sche Weg (The Biblical Way, 1926–27) as a pro- pagandist piece to support the United Jewish Party. He was appalled by the upsurge of anti-Semitism in Germany, and when the Nazis came to power in 1932 he could not avoid acknowledging the seriousness of the situation. From his home in Berlin, he wrote to his friend Alban Berg that September: More and more I am forced to concern my- self here with the question whether and to what extent it is wise to count myself in this camp or that …. Of course I know exactly where I belong. It has been hammered into me loud and so long that I would have to be deaf, even before now, not to have under- stood the message. … Today it is with pride that I call myself a Jew. Adolf Hitler was elected Chancellor of Ger- many in January 1933. That May, the Schoen- bergs left for France, where the composer officially reclaimed his Jewish faith through a ceremony in Paris. A few months later they moved to America, arriving in New York in October and then moving on to southern Cal- ifornia, where they settled in 1934. In early 1947 Schoenberg was approached by Corinne Cochem, a promoter of Jewish folk music and dance, who wanted him to write a piece using a Jewish melody she pro- vided; but she could not afford an appropriate commission fee. The idea nonetheless lodged in his mind. When the Koussevitzky Founda- tion wrote to him that July expressing inter- est in commissioning a new orchestral work, he responded that he had in mind a piece “for a small group of about 24 musicians, one or A Survivor from Warsaw, Op. 46 Arnold Schoenberg IN SHORT Born: September 13, 1874, in Vienna, Austria Died: July 13, 1951, in Los Angeles, California Work composed: August 11–23, 1947, on commission from the Koussevitzky Music Foundation; dedicated to the memory of Natalie Koussevitzky World premiere: November 4, 1948, at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, by the Albuquerque Civic Symphony Orchestra, Kurt Frederick, conductor, Sherman Smith, narrator, the Estancia Men’s Chorus, and members of the Albuquerque Choral Association New York Philharmonic premiere: April 13, 1950, Dimitri Mitropoulos, conductor, Adolph Anderson, narrator, with the Princeton University Chapel Men’s Chorus; the performance marked the New York Premiere Most recent New York Philharmonic performance: May 7, 1974, Pierre Boulez, conductor, Philip Sterling, narrator, with The Camerata Singers Estimated duration: ca. 9 minutes
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26 | NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC
Notes on the ProgramBy James M. Keller, Program Annotator, The Leni and Peter May Chair
Arnold Schoenberg was born a Jew in 1874, converted to Lutheranism in 1898, and
remained a spiritual person whose belief sys-tem was not closely linked to any organizedreligion. During the 1920s he worked on (butleft incomplete) two works with explicitlyJewish themes — the oratorio Die Jakobs-leiter (Jacob’s Ladder, 1917–22) and the operaMoses und Aron (Moses and Aaron, 1928–32)— and wrote a prose drama titled Der bibli-sche Weg (The Biblical Way, 1926–27) as a pro-pagandist piece to support the United JewishParty. He was appalled by the upsurge ofanti-Semitism in Germany, and when theNazis came to power in 1932 he could notavoid acknowledging the seriousness of thesituation. From his home in Berlin, he wroteto his friend Alban Berg that September:
More and more I am forced to concern my-self here with the question whether and towhat extent it is wise to count myself in thiscamp or that …. Of course I know exactlywhere I belong. It has been hammered intome loud and so long that I would have to bedeaf, even before now, not to have under-stood the message. … Today it is with pridethat I call myself a Jew.
Adolf Hitler was elected Chancellor of Ger-many in January 1933. That May, the Schoen-bergs left for France, where the composerofficially reclaimed his Jewish faith througha ceremony in Paris. A few months later theymoved to America, arriving in New York inOctober and then moving on to southern Cal-ifornia, where they settled in 1934.
In early 1947 Schoenberg was approachedby Corinne Cochem, a promoter of Jewishfolk music and dance, who wanted him towrite a piece using a Jewish melody she pro-vided; but she could not afford an appropriatecommission fee. The idea nonetheless lodgedin his mind. When the Koussevitzky Founda-tion wrote to him that July expressing inter-est in commissioning a new orchestral work,he responded that he had in mind a piece “fora small group of about 24 musicians, one or
A Survivor from Warsaw, Op. 46
Arnold Schoenberg
IN SHORT
Born: September 13, 1874, in Vienna, Austria
Died: July 13, 1951, in Los Angeles, California
Work composed: August 11–23, 1947, on commission from the Koussevitzky Music Foundation; dedicated to the memory of Natalie Koussevitzky
World premiere: November 4, 1948, at theUniversity of New Mexico in Albuquerque, bythe Albuquerque Civic Symphony Orchestra,Kurt Frederick, conductor, Sherman Smith, narrator, the Estancia Men’s Chorus, andmembers of the Albuquerque Choral Association
New York Philharmonic premiere: April 13,1950, Dimitri Mitropoulos, conductor, AdolphAnderson, narrator, with the Princeton University Chapel Men’s Chorus; the performance marked the New York Premiere
Most recent New York Philharmonic performance: May 7, 1974, Pierre Boulez, conductor, Philip Sterling, narrator, with The Camerata Singers
two ‘speakers’ and a mens [sic] choir of an ad-equate size” — but he allowed that he mightbe able to adapt his concept into a symphonicpoem if that was the kind of piece required.The Foundation replied that it would be con-tent with whatever form the compositiontook. On August 24 Schoenberg wrote to themthat the work was completed:
I could not change the piece into a sym-phonic poem as I had hoped to do. It would
not have been the same thing I wanted toexpress. But, though I employ one narra-tor and a mens [sic] choir, I could at leasteliminate the second speaker — it requiredmany changes!
A Survivor from Warsaw is built on whatSchoenberg characterized as “reports whichI have received directly or indirectly.” Hewrote the macaronic text himself; perhaps itessentially transcribes the account by the
At the PremiereSymphonic works commissioned by the Koussevitzky Foundation were typically premiered by theBoston Symphony Orchestra, which Serge Koussevitzky led as music director from 1924 to 1949. Butword leaked out that Schoenberg was about to let loose a new piece, and he received a query outof the blue from Kurt Frederick, a fellow Viennese émigré, who taught at the University of NewMexico and accordingly made music far from the symphonic mainstream:
Just recently I heard that you wrote a composition for a men’s chorus and small orchestra. Thisis to ask whether it would be possible for me to obtain the score, and whether, if the composi-tion does not prove too difficult, there would be a chance of our performing it in Albuquerque?
Amazingly, Schoenberg consented. As a fee, he asked only that Frederick’s Albuquerque CivicSymphony Orchestra provide copies of the orchestral parts they would be preparing. The EastCoast music establishment huffed and puffed about the decision, but in the end A Survivor fromWarsaw was premiered by an amateur orchestra “of lawyers, doctors, secretaries, high schooland university students, railroad engineers, etc.” — as Frederick described it. Schoenberg did notattend, but Frederick reported to him:
The performance was a tremendous success. The audience of over 1,600 was shaken by thecomposition and applauded until we repeated the performance. This happened in a town, whicha few years ago was considered to be a small “Railroad Town.”
The work was not less warmly received when it wasgiven its first “major-league” performance, with Dimitri Mitropoulos conducting the New York Phil-harmonic in 1950. Musical America reported:
The listeners cheered and would not let the per-formers leave the stage for the intermission until theconductor had broken a Philharmonic Symphonyprecedent [and] repeat[ed] the performance.
unidentified witness. A speaker declaims thenarrative in English in Sprechstimme, speechnotated with specific rhythms and generalpitch contours. It is an account of viciousbrutality. The speaker is one of a group ofJews (in the Warsaw ghetto? in an extermi-nation camp?) who are beaten by their Nazicaptors and made to count off so the sergeant(who declaims in German) will know howmany he needs to accommodate in the gaschamber. On the verge of their execution, theJews break into song, intoning (in Hebrew)the prayer Sh’ma Yisroel, Adonai elohenu,Adonai ehod (Hear, O Israel, the Lord ourGod, the Lord is One), an essential text that,according to some Jewish traditions, is to besaid in preparation for death. The men’schoir enters with this melody as the orches-
tra, heard almost in chamber configurationearly on, surges to its full strength. Thehighly expressive music, which adheres quitestrictly to Schoenberg’s 12-tone method, sup-ports the narrative consummately. Thisdensely packed work is sometimes describedas triumphant, but a listener may just as eas-ily feel decimated by what it communicatesin its few intense minutes.
Instrumentation: two flutes (both doublingpiccolo), two oboes, two clarinets, two bas-soons, four horns, three trumpets, threetrombones, tuba, timpani, orchestra bells,xylophone, chimes, bass drum, cymbals,tam-tam, snare drum, triangle, tambourine,castanets, harp, and strings, plus narratorand men’s chorus.
Sources and InspirationsThe title of Schoenberg’s A Survivor from Warsaw evokes the Warsaw Ghetto, which was estab-lished by Nazi forces in 1940, following the invasion of Poland the previous year. The entire Jewishpopulation of the city, plus those from surrounding areas, was forced to locate within the ghetto.It was physically cut off from the rest of Warsaw by a ten-foot high brick wall topped with barbedwire. More than 400,000 people were contained in the area of a little more than one square mile.Food supplies to the ghetto were severely rationed by the Germans and an estimated 100,000 peo-ple died of starvation and illness even before the Nazis began systematic deportations in 1942 toconcentration camps, mostly to Treblinka, under the guise of resettlement. When it became clearwhat the “resettlement” entailed, an uprising began, in January 1943, to resist further roundups.On April 19, 1943, the eve of Passover, Nazi troops entered the ghetto and began burning and destroying buildings, and shooting people on the spot. According to the United States Holocaust Me-
morial Museum, some 42,000 peoplecaptured during the uprising weresent to forced labor camps; 7,000Jews died fighting or in hiding in theghetto; and another 7,000 were sentto the Treblinka killing center. By theend of the war, an estimated 11,500Jews survived in Warsaw.
— The Editors
Jews being rounded up during the burning of the Warsaw Ghetto, 1943
Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord isone.
And Thou shalt love the Lord, thy God, withall thine heart and with all thy soul and withall thy might. And these words, which I com-mand thee this day, shall be upon thineheart. Thou shalt teach them diligently untothy children and shalt talk of them whenthou sittest in thy house, and thou walkest bythe way, and when thou liest down, and thourisest up.