Introduction

‘Out of the Shadows’ in Leeds and York featured cabaret, chamber music and songs from the Terezín ghetto, choral music by émigré composers, a powerful oratorio of Jewish suffering and redemption from the Helsinki Jewish archives, a rare opportunity to view drawings by children in the Terezín ghetto, and much more besides.

World and European premieres were presented - a recently-discovered piece for harp by Gideon Klein, and piano pieces by 12-year-old prodigy Josima Feldschuh; both these composer-performers perished during the Holocaust. The festival was framed by performances of ‘The Smoke of Home’

in York’s iconic Clifford’s Tower (16 & 17 April), and the world premieres of newly-composed opera scenes based on Jewish archival materials (23 June).

The festival featured several internationally-renowned ensembles: The Nash Ensemble of London, the New Budapest Orpheum Society from Chicago, and cello-piano duo Noreen and Phillip Silver from Maine, USA; and many more local performers: the Cassia String Quartet, The Clothworkers Consort of Leeds, Leeds University Union Chamber Choir, soprano Kate Rotheroe, and students of the Royal Northern College of Music.

Programme Summary

THE SMOKE OF HOME

Saturday 16 April, 8:00pm & 9:30pm; Sunday 17 April, 8:00pm & 9:30pmClifford’s Tower, York

GIDEON KLEIN: PORTRAIT OF A COMPOSER

Cassia String Quartet

Wednesday 1 June, 7:30pm

Holy Trinity Church, Leeds

HARLEQUIN IN THE GHETTO

Thursday 2 June - Sunday 5 June, 7:30pm

The Black Box, Department of Theatre, Film and Television, University of York

MAKE ONCE MORE MY HEART THY HOME: THE CHORAL MUSIC OF HANS GÁL

Clothworkers Consort of Leeds directed by Bryan White

Sunday 5 June, 3:00pm, Clothworkers Centenary Concert Hall, Leeds

Friday 10 June, 7:30pm, National Centre for Early Music, York

THE NASH ENSEMBLE: MUSIC IN THE TEREZÍN GHETTO

Wednesday 8 June, 7:15pm

Howard Assembly Room, Leeds

MOTHER RACHEL AND HER CHILDREN: A REDISCOVERED ORATORIO

LUUMS Chamber Choir; United Hebrew Congregation (Leeds) Choir; Cantor Albert Chait

Thursday 9 June, 7:30pm

Left Bank, Leeds

FRACTURED LIVES: MUSIC OF THE HOLOCAUST

Noreen Silver (cello), Phillip Silver (piano)

Tuesday 14 June, 7:30pm, Holy Trinity Church, Leeds

Wednesday 15 June, 1:00pm, All Saints Pavement, York

THE NEW BUDAPEST ORPHEUM SOCIETY: JEWISH CABARET TRADITION

Thursday 16 June, 7:30pm, National Centre for Early Music, York

Saturday 18 June, 7:30pm, Clothworkers Centenary Concert Hall, Leeds

FATE AND FAIRYTALES: THE MUSIC OF WILHELM GROSZ AND ZIKMUND SCHUL

Kate Rotheroe (soprano), Rhian Hughes (flute), Ian Buckle (piano), Eleanor Hudson (harp), The Cassia String Quartet

Friday 17 June, 1:05pm

Clothworkers Centenary Concert Hall, Leeds

A CHRONICLE OF LOVE AND DEATH

Philip V. Bohlman (narrator), Christine Wilkie Bohlman (piano)

Friday 17 June, 6:00pm

Holy Trinity Church, Leeds

LOOKING FORWARD THROUGH THE PAST: NEW OPERAS FROM THE JEWISH ARCHIVE

Thursday 23 June, 8:00pm

Clothworkers Centenary Concert Hall, Leeds

ART EXHIBITION: CHILDREN’S DRAWINGS FROM THE TEREZÍN GHETTO

Wednesday 1 June - Monday 20 June

Holy Trinity Church, Leeds