Lendvay Trio

• József Lendvay, Violin
• Letitia Maulá, Clarinet
• Katja Dirven, Cello

Lebenslied (Song of Life)

Musical Resistance in Europe

The concert we present is a tribute to culture as an instrument of resistance against totalitarian regimes, which, before suppressing civil and political rights, attack freedom of expression by using culture as a means of propaganda. Music, art and literature become the first ideological battlefield, with works and artists persecuted and labeled as “degenerate” if they do not conform to the ideals of the regime. In this context, the female and male composers of the cultural resistance have shown courage and determination, fighting for freedom.

Eighty years after liberation and the Mauthausen Oaths (16 May), the concert pays tribute to these artists and to the victims of the Nazi-fascist regime, including Jews, Roma and Sinti, through a programme that combines music with historical narratives. Each composition is introduced by a story that contextualises its history and struggle, creating a “red thread” that connects Italy to the rest of Europe. The concert celebrates music not only as a testimony to the past, but also as an act of living resistance and hope.

The project is presented in two formats: a full performance of 1 hour and 30 minutes, in which each piece is introduced by a historical introduction, and a series of musical intermezzos enriching institutional and cultural events, with key pieces interspersed with short, contextual introductions.

Our shared experience, which began in Rotterdam, has united us in the search and performance of these works, continuing an idea of ​​cultural resistance through music. Each performance thus becomes not only an act of commemoration, but a living testimony of those who fought for freedom. In this concert we also pay tribute to the Jews, Roma and Sinti, who were victims of deportation and persecution under the Nazi-fascist regime.

Composers and works to be played

• Louis Durey, French composer and resistance fighter:Trio 
• Hans Gal, Hungarian Jewish composer: Serenade 
• Leo Smit, Dutch Jewish composer: Suite 
• Jack Yellen-Lew Pollack, Yiddish Lullaby: My Yiddish Mamme
• Elsa Barraine, French composer and resistance fighter of Jewish descent: Serenade 
• Francis Poulenc, French composer and resistance fighter:Sonata
• Erwin Schulhoff, German composer of Jewish descent, inspired by jazz, therefore considered an enemy of the regime:Entertainment 
• M.M., Ukrainian Jewish melody: Oyfn Pripetshik 
• Maurice Ravel, tribute to French Roma melodies: Tzigane
• Claude Arrieu, French composer and resistance fighter: Trio