This article appeared in the October 31, 2013 Jewish Advocate.

History returns to the stage at annual TMF Gala

By Susie Davidson

Special to the Advocate

As part of its mission to immortalize the doomed composers of the Terezin concentration camp, the Terezin Music Foundation commissions new works from emerging composers. But on Tuesday evening at Symphony Hall, a true living legacy paid tribute to the victims of that tragically suppressed musical era.

On the Symphony stage, 90-year-old Terezín survivor and pianist Dr. George Horner played the same compositions that he performed seventy years ago with iconic musicians also imprisoned at the camp between 1941 and 1945. One of the last of the remaining Terezin musician survivors, he was accompanied by famed cellist and 2011 Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Yo-Yo Ma, who also performed solo and with members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Horner, a retired doctor now living near Philadelphia, was interred with artists Pavel Haas, Gideon Klein, Hans Krása, Viktor Ullmann, conductor Rafael Schaechter, and others who tried to inject joy and solace into the prisoner community with musical and cabaret performances. Although these were ironically permitted to promote a propagandistic Nazi aim to show the world how well they treated Jews by virtue of such a thriving cultural community, their legacies live on in history thanks to TMF and other international musical and literary efforts.

Horner, who survived both Terezín and Auschwitz, was close to Klein in his hometown of Prerov, Moravia before their mutual imprisonment. Horner also played piano and accordion with composer Karel Svenk, an avant-garde theatrical pioneer and leftist activist in Prague, who went to Terezín on the first transport, but not without an anthology of poetry which he used in his cabaret productions laced with satire and humor meant to alleviate suffering.

The nonprofit TMF rescues, restores, and performs the prisoners' music, while the commissions sustain their unrealized roles as mentors. *****The commissions have been premiered at international concert halls and schools by major new artists including Garrick Ohlsson, Leon Fleisher, Alisa Weilerstein, Sir Simon Rattle, and performed along with Holocaust works by established musicians such as André Previn, Nico Muhly, Miroslav Srnka, David Post, Thomas Oboe Lee and Stephen Feigenbaum.

In addition to Ma, who performed the Bach Solo Cello Suite No. 5 in C Minor, the program also featured Clint Foreman on flute, Thomas Martin on clarinet, Mark Kroll on harpsichord, and the Hawthorne String Quartet, four BSO members who perform Terezin works. The Quartet includes TMF Executive Director Mark Ludwig. "We were all blessed to experience such a historic and inspiring evening with Yo-Yo Ma and the George Horner, who is a living link to the Terezin musical legacy,” he told the Advocate. Two TMF commissions by Czech and Argentine composers, “Perpetuo,” for harpsichord, violin, and cello by Pablo Ortiz; and “Days,” for harpsichord, flute, and string trio by Vit Zouhar; which debuted at last year's annual Prague Spring Festival, also received American premieres at the Gala, performed by Kroll and BSO members. Ortiz and Zouhar were in attendance.

Ma also joined the Hawthorne String Quartet and Martin for a performance of Ernest Block’s “Prayer” and Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet.

“How wonderful that Terezín Music Foundation is so devoted to giving voice through music to those whose voices were tragically silenced,” said Ma, who donated his time and talent to the Gala, which, through sponsorships by John Hancock, State Street, the Kraft Group and others, provided seats for underprivileged Boston youth, local Holocaust survivors, and elderly Jewish residents.

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, who in 1994 was appointed by President Clinton as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, the nation's top civil rights post, received the 2013 Terezín Legacy Award, a glass sculpture by renowned glass artist Stephen Weinberg, at the dinner following the concert. The award, bestowed unto Patrick for his efforts in tolerance, diversity, and civil rights, recognizes contributions related to the Holocaust or to music that perpetuates its memory, and also honors civil, philanthropic or artistic actions devoted to diversity, tolerance and communication.

“George Horner’s performance with the incomparable Yo-Yo Ma is a vivid reminder of music’s power to transcend the evils of Terezín by giving us an immediate connection to the artists, audiences, and history of the camp,” said Ludwig in a statement. “We were thrilled and honored to present this unique, historic performance, as it so well represents what TMF is all about: answering oppression with expression, silence with sound.”

Terezin survivor Michael Gruenbaum was presented with a citation from the Massachusetts Senate by State Senator Cynthia S. Creem for his own tireless efforts to keep the memory of the Holocaust alive. Gruenbaum, a Brookline resident, had not previously known Horner. “But I went over to his table, sat down and briefly chatted with him – in Czech,” said Gruenbaum, a Prague native who was imprisoned for two-and-a-half years at the camp. “He was so pleased that someone there spoke Czech to him!” Gruenbaum asked Horner if he performed much, and he responded that he just plays for fun.

“I was so impressed that Yo-Yo Ma could play that Bach piece all from memory for probably a half an hour, when I can’t even remember what I did ten minutes ago,” said Gruenbaum. “But more importantly, I liked the way he showed a lot of patience and caring for George during the concert and afterwards when he walked him through the crowd, brought him into the dining room, and stayed with him until he managed to get him seated at his designated table. He really took care of him well throughout the evening.” Gruenbaum, a music lover, also enjoyed hearing Martin on clarinet.

“The Terezin Gala brought tears to my eyes and joy to my soul,” said Holocaust survivor Rena Finder of MetroWest, who, along with her mother, was among those on the famed Schindler's List. “We, who survived, watched and listened to Yo-Yo Ma in awe,” she said.

“I told Mark long beforehand that he put together an excellent program, and that he would have a hard time topping it in the future,” said Gruenbaum, who estimated that the evening attracted three times the usual-sized audience.

The program was featured on NBC Nightly News, CBS News, AP, and in other major media outlets.

For information on the Terezin Music Foundation or to support their work, please visit www.terezinmusic.org.