Both heartbreaking and heartwarming. These are just a few of the almost 300 items of ephemera produced by or for Jewish musicians imprisoned in the Terezín concentration camp during WWII collected in the remarkable 328-page @steidlverlag publication, 'Our Will to Live: The Terezín Music Critiques of Viktor Ullmann,' authored by violist and @terezinmusicfoundation director @mdrludwig In Terezín, a Nazi camp where 33,000 people died, imprisoned musicians & artists created a remarkable cultural community that persevered against all odds. 'Our Will to Live' presents the first full translation of concert critiques written by accomplished musician, scholar—and Terezín prisoner—Viktor Ullmann (1898–1944). Ullmann describes Terezín performances by ensembles, youth choirs & solo artists including luminaries of European cabaret & opera, plus works by a generation of promising composers silenced too soon: Gideon Klein, Pavel Haas, Hans Krása… Paired with Ullmann’s critiques are more than 250 rarely seen concert posters, programs, portraits & scenes rendered by imprisoned artists; these are from a trove of hidden artworks recovered after liberation. 'Our Will to Live' also offers an original collection of vintage & modern recordings performed by Terezín survivors & contemporary masters. Essays & annotations by Ludwig set the historical context, introduce the artists & deepen what we know of this extraordinary chapter in WWII history. Terezín survivors helped guide this project, the result of more than 30 years of research & writing. Shortly after Ullmann authored his final concert critique, Terezín’s cultural community was decimated: nearly all the artists were murdered in Auschwitz. Mark Ludwig is a Fulbright scholar of Terezín, a member of the Pamatník Terezín Advisory Board and director of the Terezin Music Foundation. He produces recordings, concerts and Holocaust and genocide education programs worldwide. Ludwig is a violist emeritus of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, adjunct professor of Holocaust music at Boston College and editor of the poetry anthology Liberation (2015). #ourwilltolive #Terezín #ViktorUllmann https://www.instagram.com/p/Cc8U4hBLLl7/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
