When World War II ended and the terrible secret of the Holocaust was revealed, Schoenberg, who had already returned to the faith of his heritage, was deeply shaken. A Survivor from Warsaw resulted from his reflections on the great tragedy, specifically, the Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto who fought back against the Nazis and lost. Years before, by the start of World War I, Schoenberg had already developed one of the 20th-century's most startling musical innovations. At its best it is music of fear and suspense, the moods that predominate in A Survivor from Warsaw , a six-minute work of almost unbearable intensity. The text, which will be read at the MSO performance by German opera singer Ernst Theo Richter, tells the story of a Warsaw Jew, a survivor left for dead by his tormentors.
Percussion instruments underscore the barking commands and the killing.
A chorus intones the dramatic climax, the ancient Jewish prayer Shema Yisroel. It represents the finest in the symphonic tradition, which I see as entertainment on the highest possible level, with human values and uplifting spiritual qualities other forms of entertainment cannot achieve. And that is the best argument against those who write-off symphonic music as out of date. Let's listen for pop music that can approach A Survivor of Warsaw . We'll listen forever without hearing a note.