Exodus: Jewish Composers in Exile

Program & Artists

Alexandre Tansman Polish Rhapsody
Josef Tal Exodus NYC PREMIERE
Walter Kaufmann Indian Symphony NYC PREMIERE
Marcel Rubin Symphony No. 4, Dies irae

Leon Botstein conductor
Noam Heinz baritone

Tickets

Part of TŌN’s Carnegie Hall series

Leon Botstein and The Orchestra Now perform rarely heard works by Jewish composers written while they were in exile from their homelands during World War II. Renowned Polish composer Alexandre Tansman fled Europe for the United States in 1941, and his rhythmic Polish Rhapsody—inspired by the invasion of Poland and dedicated “to the defenders of Warsaw”—was premiered in St. Louis that same year. Prolific composer Josef Tal emigrated to Jerusalem in 1934, and his dramatic Exodus, based on the Passover Haggadah, was debuted by the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra during the first days of that country’s War of Independence. Walter Kaufmann was one of many Jewish refugees who found a haven in India, where he lived for 14 years and wrote his Indian Symphony. Viennese composer Marcel Rubin fled first to France and then to Mexico, which is where he wrote his melancholy Symphony No. 4, Dies irae, reflecting his experiences during the Second World War.

Concert Details

>Read the concert program

Brief remarks by TŌN horn player Stefan Williams

Alexandre Tansman Polish Rhapsody
13 min
Listen
>Read concert notes by TŌN horn player Stefan Williams

Josef Tal Exodus
U.S. premiere
Noam Heinz baritone
22 min
>Read concert notes by TŌN violinist Zeyi Sun

Walter Kaufmann Indian Symphony
U.S. premiere
18 min
>Read concert notes by TŌN flutist Chase McClung

Intermission
20 min

Brief remarks by TŌN cellist Emma Churchill

Marcel Rubin Symphony No. 4, Dies irae
29 min
Listen
>Read concert notes by TŌN violinist Judith Kim and TŌN violist Sydney Link

All timings are approximate.

Sample the Music

Alexandre Tansman Polish Rhapsody

Marcel Rubin Symphony No. 4, Dies irae

Photo: The Orchestra Now at Carnegie Hall by David DeNee

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