G.E.R. Gedye’s Eye-Witness Account of Austro-Fascism

In this blog and in my book Forbidden Music, I have tried to stress the importance of the five year period running up to the annexation of Austria in March 1938. They represented… Continue reading

Why Some Composers and not Others?

This article was posted some time ago, but appears to have been swallowed somewhere along the line. No matter, it’s good to review such things and my thoughts on this subject have certainly… Continue reading

Migrants, Immigrants, Refugees, Asylum Seekers

“Migrants”, “immigrants”, “refugees”, “asylum seekers”: these are the last words I hear at night as I switch off the news and the first I read in my morning paper. For several decades now,… Continue reading

The False Myths and True Genius of Erich Wolfgang Korngold

1897 was an eventful year for music in Vienna: Johannes Brahms died and Gustav Mahler took over the Imperial Opera; the anti-Semitic Karl Lueger was elected mayor; the Eleven-year-old Ernst Toch decided to… Continue reading

Where Culture Intersects with History – The Music Estate

This is the modified text of a lecture I recently gave at London Royal College of Music. Click on the photos to enlarge them and to read the documents more easily What’s found… Continue reading

Thomas Hampson’s ‘Mirror of the World’ Broadcast

Thomas Hampson has put together a remarkable series of art-song broadcasts called Mirror of the World. His latest is based on my book Forbidden Music. When I posted the link on Facebook, only… Continue reading

TLS Review of Hans Gál’s Internment Diaries

I’ve been unable to write as much as I would like – but there are interesting items in the pipeline! I promise. Meanwhile, here is my review in the TLS of Hans Gál’s… Continue reading

Richard Stöhr – an important new Website

As composer websites come on-stream, there is little point in constructing ‘virtual exhibitions’ as their websites offer a wealth of biographical information, work-lists, timelines, audio clips and photographs. Richard Stöhr now has a… Continue reading

Reconciliation of Music Developments pre- and post-Hitler

Since my lecture on the subject of Music Restitution – available elsewhere on this blog – I have been forced over the intervening weeks to think more seriously about how we quantify the idea… Continue reading

Kevin Clarke’s excellent article on Operetta on the Orel Website

Kevin Clarke – who despite the English name hails from Berlin – has written a superb article on operetta and how we are still suffering the consequences of Nazi cultural policies. His exhibition… Continue reading