Departure and Memory. The Composers Paul Ben-Haim and Stefan Wolpe

Musicological Institute of the University of Music and Theater Munich, Germany

In musical exile research, the question as to the specific artistic impact of Nazi persecution and the expulsion of numerous composers on their oeuvre still plays a rather peripheral role that scarcely does justice to its considerable cultural-historical significance. This conference sponsored by the EvS Music Foundation would therefore like to shed greater light on this issue by examining the significance of "departure" and "memory" in the lives and works of the two Jewish composers Paul Ben-Haim (1897-1984) and Stefan Wolpe (1902-1972). From Munich and Berlin respectively, both fled to Palestine after the Nazi Party came to power. While Ben-Haim became the founder of an Israeli national style there, Wolpe found musical life in Palestine at that time restrictive, prompting him to emigrate to the USA in 1938. Comparing a more traditionally oriented composer like Ben-Haim with a decidedly progressive one like Wolpe, as products of the same background, makes it possible to examine the different artistic reactions to expulsion.

November 17 – 19, 2022
University of Music and Theater Munich, Germany

Further Information:
hmtm.de