Join us for an extraordinary evening at the Austrian Cultural Forum London. The Exilarte Center of the mdw – University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, under the direction of Gerold Gruber, will showcase its vital work in preserving, researching, and presenting the legacies of composers, performers, musicologists and theatre artists who were labeled as "degenerate" during the Third Reich.
This special programme will focus on the life and music of Julius Bürger, a composer who fled persecution and achieved success abroad. Musicologist and singer Ryan Hugh Ross will offer insights into Bürger's life, his connection to London and his work as an arranger and conductor, notably for the BBC until 1938. After relocating to the United States in 1939, Bürger continued to make his mark, culminating in winning the University of Indiana Composition Prize in 1984 for his "Variations on a Theme" by C. Ph. E. Bach.
The evening will also feature a short screening of the documentary "Julius Bürger – Expelled and Rediscovered: A Viennese Composer Returns". This film, produced in conjunction with the first performance of Bürger's orchestral works in Vienna in August 2023 at ORF’s Great Broadcasting Hall with the RSO orchestra, offers a compelling insight into his life and legacy.
Following the film screening, the musical programme will feature performances by baritone Ryan Hugh Ross, mezzo-soprano Josipa Bainac Hausknecht and pianist Marc Verter, who will present a selection of Julius Bürger’s songs.
About the film: https://exilarte.org/en/dokumentaries
Artists:
Ryan Hugh Ross, baritone
Josipa Bainac Hausknecht, mezzosoprano
Marc Verter, piano
Programme:
Songs by Julius Bürger
Moderation:
Gerold Gruber (founder of exil.arte and head of the Exilarte Center)
Ryan Hugh Ross
