November 9-21, 2022
The chamber music festival celebrates Karol Rathaus, a prominent Polish composer of Jewish origin whose second homeland was the United State, and Queens College composers who have continued his legacy. Rathaus (1895–1954) was born in Tarnopol (now Ternopil in Ukraine) into a Polish-Jewish family. He was educated in Vienna and Berlin and studies with Franz Schreker. He taught composition in Berlin; when his compositions were classified as “degenerate art” by the Nazis, he left Europe and eventually settled in Flushing, Queens in 1938, becoming the first professor of composition in the Music Department (now the Aaron Copland School of Music) of the newly-created Queens College of the City University of New York.
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 9 at 7:30pm ET
“Kristallnacht and its aftermath”
Centre for Jewish History
15 W 16th Street
New York, NY 10011
The concert will feature Trio Serenade, Song of Authum, and Rapsodia Notturna by Karol Rathaus, a Piano Trio by Hans Gál, and the Suite Polonaise by Simon Laks, three composers who were forced to restart their promising young careers in as immigrants in new countries.
Presented by the Karol Rathaus Foundation in partnership with the University of Silesia in Katowice, Institute of Art of the Polish Academy of Sciences, and Adam Mickiewicz Institute.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 14 at 12:15pm ET
“Music of Karol Rathaus”
LeFrak Concert Hall, Music Building
Queens College, 65-30 Kissena Blvd, Queens, NY
in-person and online:
https://youtu.be/QSCGbiFTLk0
Works by Rathaus, Nichols, and Hałat. Performed by Karol Rathaus Ensemble: Marcin Hałat, violin; Marcin Mączyński, cello; Aleksandra Hałat, piano; and guest artist Steven Beck, piano.
Presented by the Karol Rathaus Foundation in partnership with the University of Silesia in Katowice, Institute of Art of the Polish Academy of Sciences, and Adam Mickiewicz Institute.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 14 at 3-4pm ET
Lectures
Music Building, Queens College
65-30 Kissena Blvd., Queens, NY
in-person and online:
https://youtu.be/TJrYAE5ZjJs
Jolanta Guzy-Pasiak: “Karol Rathaus in musical culture of Poland: Past and Present”, Polish Academy of Sciences
Aleksandra Hałat: “Inspirations, contexts, and influences in the piano chamber music of Karol Rathaus”, University of Silesia
Presented by the Karol Rathaus Foundation in partnership with the University of Silesia in Katowice, Institute of Art of the Polish Academy of Sciences, and Adam Mickiewicz Institute.
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16 at 7:30pm ET
“The Rathaus Heritage”
Polish Chamber Musicians’ Association
LeFrak Concert Hall, Music Building
Queens College, 65-30 Kissena Blvd., Queens, NY
in-person and online:
https://youtu.be/SteLGTXAAWE
Works by Friedman, Laks, Rathaus, Tansman, Waghalter, Weinberg. Performed by Magdalena Filipczak, violin; Monika Gardon-Preinl, piano; Piotr Lato, clarinet; Grzegorz Mania, piano; Karolina Mikolajczyk, violin; Iwo Jedynecki, accordion.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18 at 7:30pm ET
“Rathaus Bridges to the Present”
Polish Chamber Musicians’ Association
Elebash Hall, CUNY Graduate Center
365 5th Ave., New York City
Works by Bottigliero, Copland, Koffler, Sanejko, Saylor, Schober, Smaldone. Performed by Magdalena Filipczak, violin; Monika Gardon-Preinl, piano; Piotr Lato, clarinet; Grzegorz Mania, piano; Karolina Mikolajczyk, violin; Iwo Jedynecki, accordion; and guest artist Michael Boriskin, piano.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 21 at 7:30pm ET
“Emigration”
Polish Chamber Musicians’ Association
Flushing Town Hall
137-35 Northern Blvd., Queens, NY
Works by Kassern, Mandelbaum, Palester, Rathaus, Schober,Tansman, Waghalter, Weinberg. Performed by Magdalena Filipczak, violin; Monika Gardon-Preinl, piano; Piotr Lato, clarinet; Grzegorz Mania, piano; and guest artists Alice Jones, flute, and Sarah Song, cello.
Presented by the Aaron Copland School of Music, Queens College Center for Jewish Studies, Polish Chamber Musicians’ Association, Karol Rathaus Foundation, Center for Jewish History, CUNY Graduate Center, Flushing Town Hall, and in partnership with the Polish Cultural Institute New York.
Karol Rathaus (1895–1954) was born in Tarnopol (now Ternopil in Ukraine) into a Polish-Jewish family. He was educated in Vienna and Berlin and was a student of Franz Schreker. He taught composition in Berlin, left Europe where his compositions were classi ed as “degenerate art” by the Nazis, and came to the United States in 1938, landing in Flushing, Queens, to become the rst professor of composition in the Music Department of the newly created Queens College, City University of New York (now, the Aaron Copland School of Music).
