Christopher Nupen's award winning documentary explores music in Germany from Bach to Schoenberg, and the role of Jewish musicians within that changing world. Trace the contributions of Moses Mendelssohn and his grandson Felix (who rescued Bach from relative obscurity) to the prescient works of Mahler, which expressed a foreboding of what was to come (his musical niece Alma later dies in a concentration camp).
The enormously musical German-Jews move from emancipation in 1781 to a period of integration into German society, only to have that door tragically closed again with the rise of Nazism. Wagner's anti-Semitic essay, "The Jews in Music," added fuel to the flames of hatred and influenced the Third Reich.
Hear testimonies of holocaust survivors, including 98-year-old Ann SommerHerz, who in Terezin played over 100 concerts. Also hear musicians and scholars reflect on the transcendent effect of music which sustained many in their darkest hours. Beautiful performances and an additional 4 hours of in-depth interviews complete this profoundly moving 3-part film.
330 min. 2DVDs
