The music was hidden in attics, archives or family trusts, far from public view. Compositions created in catastrophic times were often overshadowed. Works forged while fleeing fascist persecution were lost to the past.
Jewish refugee artists seeking safe haven from the Nazi regime carried with them musical and theatrical works inspired by their experiences of exile, oppression and flight. Much of this material was forgotten or neglected as they rebuilt lives in foreign lands, far from home.
The festival Out of the Shadows: rediscovering Jewish music and theatre celebrates some of those works, created in the aftermath of the Holocaust. Some pieces were written by artists who escaped the Third Reich only to be interned in detention camps in Australia as “enemy aliens”. Some refugees didn’t make it that far.
Read the full article by at the Sydney Morning Herald.