The Vienna Philharmonic orchestra is expected to publish details of its history during the Nazi era in response to accusations of a cover-up.
The orchestra has come under fire for not acknowledging alleged links to the Nazis.
The Vienna Philharmonic orchestra says it will also give more details about a ring of honor it presented to Baldur von Schirach, a Nazi governor of Vienna.
Baldur von Schirach oversaw the deportation of tens of thousands of Jews.
The ring, originally presented in 1942, was lost by Baldur von Schirach but it is claimed that a replacement was given to him in the 1960s after his release from Spandau prison for crimes against humanity.
Correspondents say Austria took several decades after World War II to acknowledge and express regret for its role in Hitler’s Third Reich and in the Holocaust.
On Tuesday the country is due to mark the 75th anniversary of its annexation by Nazi Germany. The Anschluss (union) was complete when German forces invaded Austria unopposed on 12 March 1938.
Three historians, led by Oliver Rathkolb, have been commissioned by the Vienna Philharmonic to produce articles on the orchestra’s history in the Nazi era that will be published on its website.
They are expected to reveal details of 13 musicians said to have been driven out of the orchestra because of their Jewish origins or their stance on Germany’s annexation of Austria.
Five of the musicians died in concentration camps.
The Vienna Philharmonic orchestra is expected to publish details of its history during the Nazi era in response to accusations of a cover-up
Some members of the Philharmonic at the time have in the past been identified as Nazis.
The orchestra says it is not obliged to give public access to its archives as it is a private organization, although it does allow access to some historians and scholars.
Orchestra Chairman Clemens Hellberg has been accused of failing to include details of the Philharmonic’s Nazi links in his 1992 book Democracy of Kings, which is widely regarded as the orchestra’s official history.
He has since said he did not have access to all the relevant documents when he wrote the book.
According to a summary of Oliver Rathkolb’s report handed to the New York Times last month, the revelation that a replacement ring was given to Baldur von Schirach after his release from prison came to light only recently. Baldur von Schirach’s son Richard wrote about it in a book in 2004 but refused to name the man who gave it to his father.
Oliver Rathkolb found out the man’s identity elsewhere.
The Vienna Philharmonic is well known for its annual New Year’s Concert, a Strauss waltz extravaganza.
However, historians say the concert originated as a propaganda instrument under Nazi rule in 1939.
Celebrating George Enescu’s 130th birthday anniversary, an important classical music festival in Europe, George Enescu Festival 2011, will take place in Bucharest, Romania, from September 1, until September 25.
Its 20th edition will also include performances held in Cluj-Napoca (central-western Romania), Sibiu (central Romania) and Timisoara (western Romania).
A large number of world’s leading orchestras and conductors will be present at this biennial event along with great names in Romanian music and nation’s emerging composers. The legacy of the great Romanian composer, George Enescu, is the core of the festival since it was founded in 1958.
Along with Enescu’s compositions, works by Shostakovich, Constantin Silvestri, Dinu Lipatti, Glazunov, Mahler, Bruckner, Liszt, Mozart, Dvořák, Prokofiev, Walton, Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Mahler, Wagner, Vivaldi, Chopin, Bach, Schumann, Brahms, Prokofiev will be interpreted.
Prestigious world’s orchestras, conductors and soloists will perform at George Enescu Festival 2011.
Romanian Athenaeum is the main venue of George Enescu Festival 2011
The Residentie Orkest and Christian Badea, the London Symphony Orchestra with Nicola Benedetti, the Mariinsky Orchestra and Valery Gergiev with the Academic Choir of the Romanian National Radio Society, the Staatskapelle Berlin and Daniel Barenboim, Franz Welser-Möst and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Vasily Petrenko and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra with Midori, Vadim Repin and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra with Zubin Mehta and Yefim Bronfman, the Orchestra Sinfonica dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and Antonio Pappano, the Orchestra National de France and Danielle Gatti with Hélène Grimaud, Denis Matsuev and Han-Na Chiang will perform during “Great Orchestras of the World” series.
“We have a very strong programme, which includes many fascinating contemporary works this year. This is a significant feature of what we are doing to develop our audience for new and existing compositions. The exciting thing is that foreign as well as Romanian artists are bringing their perspectives and ideas to new Romanian music. The Festival will also explore symphonic music from countries not usually associated with it, such as Tunisia, India, Japan and Palestine, in our new ‘World Music’ series.” said Mihai Constantinescu, the Festival’s Manager.
George Enescu Festival 2011 will also have another new series “Music of the 21st Century”.
Fourteen concerts from scores for chamber choir and string quartet to compositions for live instruments and electronic sounds will be played. A recital of new pieces from Iancu Dumitrescu’s Hyperion Ensemble (complete with music by Ana-Maria Avram and Dumitrescu himself) and performances of Guillaume Connesson’s Concerto for cello and orchestra and Cornel Ţăranu’s Remembranza (In memoriam George Enescu).
“In addition to its 21st-century strand, the Festival intends to unite young Romanian composers with their international colleagues for a day of workshops.“ said Constantinescu.
The Academy of Saint Martin in the Fields, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the Venice Baroque Orchestra, Il Complesso Barocco and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, Boris Berezovsky, Ian Bostridge, the Fine Arts Quartet, Angelika Kirchschlager, Gidon Kremer, Murray Perahia, Yundi and Christian Zacharias will be also present.
The concert performed by Residentie Orkest of Hague in the opening of George Enescu Festival 2011 will be broadcasted on the Internet on September 1.
The George Enescu International Competition for piano and violin and the Award Gala will also be available for live watching on www.tvr.ro/festivalenescu/
The Independent mentioned the George Enescu Festival 2011, along with Verbier Festival, Bayreuth Festival, Festival D’Aix-en-Provence and Festival de Saint-Denis as important cultural events made more popular through the live streaming technology.
George Enescu appeared as conductor with Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic and others American orchestras, he also conducted Orchestre Symphonique de Paris. Yehudi Menuhin was among his pupils.
He was a composer, violinist, pianist, conductor and teacher. He was born in 19 August 1881 in Liveni, Romania and died on May 4, 1955 in Paris, France, where he is known as Georges Enesco.
Romanian Rhapsody No. 1 in A Major, Concert Overture on a theme in Romanian folk character in A Major, Oedipe opera are some of his compositions that will be rendered at George Enescu Festival 2011.
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