Mark Ludwig: Our Will to Live: The Terezn Music Critiques of Viktor Ullmann

(Hardback)

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In Terezn, a Nazi camp where 33,000 people died, imprisoned musicians and artists created a remarkable cultural community that persevered against all odds. Our Will to Live brings us into this astonishing world. It presents the first full translation of concert critiques written by accomplished musician, scholar-and Terezn prisoner-Viktor Ullmann. He describes Terezn performances by ensembles, youth choirs and solo artists including luminaries of European cabaret and opera, plus works by a generation of promising composers silenced too soon: Gideon Klein, Pavel Haas, Hans Krsa and others. Paired with Ullmann's critiques are more than 250 rarely seen concert posters, programs, portraits and 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 and modern recordings performed by Terezn survivors and contemporary masters. Essays and annotations by scholar Mark Ludwig set the historical context, introduce the artists and deepen what we know of this extraordinary chapter in World War II history. Terezn survivors helped guide this project, the result of more than 30 years of research and writing. Shortly after Ullmann authored his final concert critique, Terezn's cultural community was decimated: nearly all the artists were murdered in Auschwitz. Our Will to Live is a tribute to their creative will.

Reviews

Our Will To Live is a record of response to a hopeless condition. Generously illustrated with poster and other art saved from oblivion, and informed by Ludwig's introductory essay, the book offers an immersion into spirit itself.--Ron Slate "On the Seawall"
Our Will To Live is a unique archive of humanity's ability to manufacture light from darkness, an absorbing archive of who we are, and a document of the difference between survival and living.--Thomas Gorton "AnOther"
The book itself as an object is an encapsulation of all that is within. It is large and weighty, but simple and elegant. Every aspect of the book was created with care and respect. The choice of Gerhard Steidl, known as an artist of the book, was a perfect marriage of publisher and subject. By enclosing this history in a vessel so beautiful, the contents are further sanctified, that is, made safe and holy; it is a work of art in and of itself, and speaks to the joy of creation.--Elisa Birdseye "The Boston Music Intelligencer"
Amidst dislocation and death, these artists strived to assert their culture, identity, and creativity. Our Will to Live both celebrates and mourns them. A remarkable homage.--Richard Blanco "2013 Presidential Inaugural Poet, author of How to Love a Country"
Our Will to Live takes readers into the world of Terezn's silenced artists and makes their voices come alive. A testimony to the inextinguishable strength of the human spirit. There are moments of excruciating beauty, there are heartrending stories, all reminding us that if we lose our humanity, we are nothing.--Yo-Yo Ma
This astonishing book is an act of creation from chaos. Here is art, music, humor, precision, speculation, indignation, love -- the panoply of human expression dredged from darkness. A wonder.--Rabbi David Wolpe "Sinai Temple, Los Angeles"

Author Bio

Mark Ludwig is a Fulbright scholar of Terezn, a member of the Pamatnk Terezn 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).