October 29, 2023
7:30pm Performance;
6:00pm Pre-Performance Panel Discussion
Post-Performance Reception
Presenting Sponsor Bader Philanthropies
"Present Music is presenting Die Stadt ohne Juden recognizing that we're again living in a time of rising anti-Semitism, demagoguery and hate campaigns aimed at ethnic and refugee groups-- with clear parallels to an earlier time. Experiencing this lost 1920's film through the artistic sensibilities of contemporary composer Olga Neuwirth will hopefully promote dialogue, and a reexamination of where societies can go wrong. Seeing it performed live will only add to its already palpable impact." - Eric Segnitz, Artistic Director of Present Music
Olga Neuwrith’s score to The City Without Jews will be performed live by the Present Music ensemble, conducted by Yaniv Dinur, as the film screens. The film, long believed to be lost, was discovered at a Parisian flea market in 2015 and digitally restored through a crowdfunding campaign. The Vienna Conzerthaus recently commissioned the score for the film.
Based on the controversial and best-selling novel by Hugo Bettauer, H.K. Breslauer’s 1924 film adaptation of “The City Without Jews (Die Stadt ohne Juden)” was produced two years after the publication of the book, and, tragically, only a brief time before the satirical events depicted in the fictional story transformed an all-too-horrific reality.
Set in the Austrian city of Utopia (a thinly-disguised stand-in for Vienna), the story follows the political and personal consequences of an anti-Semitic law passed by the National Assembly forcing all Jews to leave the country. At first, the decision is met with celebration, yet when the citizens of Utopia eventually come to terms with the loss of the Jewish population—and the resulting economic and cultural decline—the National Assembly must decide whether or not to invite the Jews back. Though darkly comedic in tone, and stylistically influenced by German Expressionism, the film nonetheless contains ominous and eerily realistic sequences, such as the shots of freight trains transporting Jews out of the city.
The satirical response to primitive antisemitism and rising fascism is part of the reason the film was no longer screened in public after 1933 (all complete prints were thought to be destroyed). Now, thanks to the discovery of the nitrate print of the film, as well as to the brilliant restoration efforts of the Filmarchiv Austria, this previously “lost” film can once again be appreciated in its unfortunately ever-relevant entirety.
“From the very first moments, the musical sound and film image fuse into a breathing organism that continues throughout the film. The music uses a live orchestra of nine musicians and a pre-recorded track, resulting in an unsettling score that both matches the screen action but also disrupts and disturbs. The music holds a liveliness by being both touching and tough, amusing and angry, humorous and sad. Recognizable but transformed elements include snatches of Austrian yodelers, tatters of Viennese wine tavern songs, and shards from a song used in Austrian populist election events.” - Hamburger Abdendblatt
Link to digital program: Program
The Woody Guthrie /Lisa Gutkin song Gonna Get Through This World is arranged for Present Music by Israeli composer Aviya Kopelman and will be sung by Donna Woodall.
Woody Guthrie collaborated on over 100 Yiddish songs with his mother-in-law, Aliza Greenblatt, who was a well-known poet. In the late 1990’s, Guthrie’s daughter Nora parceled out lyrics for which no music existed to various artists, and the Yiddish-inspired songs went to the soul-stirring roots group, the Klezmatics. Lisa Gutkin, the violinist of that group, penned the music for “Gonna Get Through This World,” which reflects not only Guthrie’s awareness of Jewish culture, but the general fixation with the fleetingness of life during wartime years.
Die Stadt ohne Juden / The City Without Jews PROJECT
This performance is part of the Die Stadt ohne Juden / The City Without Jews Project, a collaboration between Present Music and nine Milwaukee cultural partners.
Jewish Museum Milwaukee
Milwaukee Art Museum
Milwaukee Public Library & East Branch
Nathan & Esther Pelz Holocaust Education Resource Center
Saint John’s On The Lake
Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center
Sam and Helen Stahl Center for Jewish Studies at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Warehouse Art Museum
Department of History at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Present Music’s Die Stadt ohne Juden Project envisions that this combined musical performance and film screening — together with the related community events and actions — will help the public:
understand mechanisms such as power, populism, antisemitism, and the refugee crisis that can lead to atrocities today.
develop compassion for the Jewish community and deeper understanding of the impact of derogatory language and antisemitism
learn from history that an apocalyptic vision can lead to a frightening reality.
October 1 – November 8, 2023
Milwaukee Public Library – EAST BRANCH
Display of Books and other media connected to the Book & Film, Die Stadt ohne Juden. Book Reading List Here.
Tuesday, October 10, 2023, 12:00pm-1:15pm
Jewish Museum Milwaukee / Lunch & Learn
1360 N Prospect Avenue
Reconstructing a Lost Place with Dan Haumschild, PhD and Jewish Museum Milwaukee Education Director
The spaces that we occupy are almost always saturated with meaning. But in our hustle, bustle, and pursuit of 'progress' we have quite frequently forgotten the deeper profundity at our feet. In this session, participants will have a chance to consider what it means to resurrect meaning in our everyday places. The example that will serve to anchor this presentation comes from Bardejov, Slovakia. Like so many other small towns in Eastern Europe, Bardejov attempted to eradicate its Jewish past during the era of the Holocaust. By exploring the steps being taken to recover this heritage, we may be inspired to discover the invisible pasts buried just below the surface of all things.
FREE for JMM Members - $10 for Non-Members –Jewish Museum Board Room. Coffee and cookies provided.
More info & RSVP: JMM Reconstructing a Lost Place
Tuesday, Oct 17, 2023 6:00pm-7:00pm Presentation, 7:00pm-7:30pm Q&A
Milwaukee Public Library – EAST BRANCH
Dr Amy Shapiro & conductor Yaniv Dinur
Join us for a Pre-Program Conversation with Yaniv Dinur, Music Director of the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra and Amy Shapiro, Emerita Professor of Philosophy and Gender Studies, Alverno College in collaboration with Present Music's program Die Stadt ohne Juden / The City Without Jews. Learn about this 1924 Austria silent film by Hans Karl Breslauer which was thought to be lost but re-discovered in 2015 and the new film score which was commissioned by The Vienna Konzerthaus from composer Olga Neuwirth. Talk followed by Q&A and light refreshments.
This event is free to the public, and no reservation is necessary. More Info.
Sunday, Oct 29, 2023 5:30pm-10:00pm
Milwaukee Art Museum - Windhover Hall
Display of Art & Politics Timeline* 1905-1939
The timeline covers highlights of the art world and political events that took place in Austria-Germany from 1905-1939.
*Timeline Created by Jewish Museum Milwaukee and the Nathan and Esther Pelz Holocaust Education Resource Center for Jewish Museum Milwaukee’s original exhibition, DEGENERATE! Hitler's War on Modern Art
Sunday, October 29, 2023 , 6:00pm-7:00pm
Milwaukee Art Museum - Lubar Auditorium
Pre-Performance Panel Discussion – “History, Film & Music: Understanding Die Stadt ohne Juden”
Dr. Amy Shapiro, Emerita Professor of Philosophy and Women’s and Gender Studies, Alverno College – PANEL MODERATOR
Lisa Silverman, Professor of History and Jewish Studies at UW-Milwaukee and author of Becoming Austrians: Jews and Culture between the World Wars — PANELIST/HISTORY
Yaniv Dinur, Music Director of the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra; former resident Conductor, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra; and winner of the 2019 Sir Georg Solti Conducting Fellow Award — PANELIST/MUSIC
David Luhrssen, Film Critic and Managing Editor at shepherdexpress.com and author of Hammer of the Gods: Thule Society and Birth of Nazism as well as several books on film history including The Great Depression on Film — PANELIST/FILM
Sunday, October 29, 2023, 6:00pm-7:00pm
Milwaukee Art Museum - Baker Rowland Galleries
Art, Life, Legacy: Northern European Paintings from the Collection of Isabel & Alfred Bader
Free with Present Music event ticket
Sunday, October 29, 2023 , 7:30pm-9:30pm
Milwaukee Art Museum - Windhover Hall
Film Screening & Present Music Performance
Die Stadt ohne Juden, film by Hans Karl Breslauer (1924)
Music by Olga Neuwirth, performed by the Present Music ensemble conducted by Yaniv Dinur
Gonna Get Though This World, music & lyrics by Woody Guthrie & Lisa Gutkin
Arranged by Aviya Kopelman and performed by Donna Woodall and the Present Music ensemble
Tuesday, November 7, 2023 , 7:00pm-8:00pm
The Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center and The Nathan and Esther Pelz Holocaust Education Resource Center Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center / Community Hall
Antisemitism and the Power of Incendiary Speech
Join us for a discussion of Antisemitism, how its centuries of evolution helped pave the way for the Holocaust, and how incendiary speech can organize and ignite hate and violence.
Reva Fox, Arts and Culture Director, Harry and Rose Samson Family JCC: Panel Moderator
Samantha Abramson, Executive Director, Nathan and Esther Pelz Holocaust Education Resource Center
Jody Hirsh, Judaic Educator
Dr. Amy Shapiro, Emerita Professor of Philosophy and Women’s and Gender Studies, Alverno College
Free to the public. Register Here.
