Theresienstadt
January 31 | 7 PM
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In Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust, Austrian baritone Wolfgang Holzmair and pianist Olivier Godin give a recital centred on works composed at the Theresienstadt concentration camp.
About the Concert
Theresienstadt stands for ghetto, hunger, danger of epidemics, overcrowded quarters, inhumane hygienic conditions, fear of deportation, physical and mental exhaustion.
Nevertheless, some of the artists imprisoned at Theresienstadt managed to develop a wide variety of cultural activities: Concerts, opera and theater performances, cabaret, readings, exhibitions. There was an elite at work under catastrophic conditions, talented amateurs included, who never lost their creative power and humor (yes, even that!) in the daily struggle for survival and who practiced spiritual resistance, as it were: Viktor Ullmann, Hans Krása, Gideon Klein, Pavel Haas, Ilse Weber, Adolf Strauss, Karel Švenk and many others.
The concert will span an arc from the classical song genre to light music.
About the Musicians
Wolfgang Holzmair is an Austrian Baritone. He studied at the Vienna Academy of Music and Dramatic Art with Hilde Rössel-Majdan (voice) and Erik Werba (lied). His career covers recitals in London, Lisbon, Moscow, New York, Seoul, Washington, at the Risör Festival (Norway), Bath, Belfast and Edinburgh festivals (UK), Menuhin Festival (Switzerland), Bregenz and Carinthian Summer festivals (Austria) in collaboration with leading accompanists and pianists of our time. Opera roles include Masino in Haydn’s La vera costanza, Papageno and Speaker of the Temple (Magic Flute), Don Alfonso (Cosi), Eisenstein (Fledermaus), Wolfram (Tannhäuser), Faninal (Der Rosenkavalier), Music Master (Ariadne), the Father (Hansel and Gretel by Humperdinck), Danilo (The Merry Widow), Eduard (Neues vom Tage by Hindemith) or Demetrius (A Midsummernight’s Dream by Britten).
Olivier Godin is a pianist and the Artistic Director of Bougie Hall at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts since 2022. He leads a brilliant career as a concert artist, chamber musician and educator in Canada and abroad. He has given recitals alongside several lyrical artists including Frédéric Antoun, Julie Boulianne, Gordon Bintner, Russell Braun, Donna Brown, Thomas Dolié,, Julie Fuchs, Karina Gauvin, Hélène Guilmette, Wolfgang Holzmair, Aline Kutan, Dominique Labelle, Jean-François Lapointe, Marie-Nicole Lemieux, François Le Roux, Michèle Losier and Sylvia Schwartz. He has performed in several international festivals such as Palazzetto Bru-Zane in Venice, Wigmore Hall in London, Mexico Lieder Fest in Monterrey, Académie Francis Poulenc in Tours, Festival Albert Roussel in Lille, Atelier Lyrique de Tourcoing, Johannes-Wasmuth Gesellschaft in Bonn, La Monnaie in Brussels and Source Song Festival in Minneapolis. Among his many recordings are the complete songs of Poulenc, Fauré,Duparc, Massenet, Dutilleux, an album of melodies and piano works by Jolivet, Rachmaninov’s complete works for two pianos, Brahms’ Liebeslieder Walzer as well as a solo album of the world premiere of Émile Pessard’s works for piano.