Upcoming lecture recitals
(174) Thursday, 26. March 2026, Konzerthaus Berlin, Musikclub, 20 hWilhelm Grosz (1894-1939): Musical versatility in dramatic times
Born in Vienna in 1894, Wilhelm Grosz received an outstanding education. After studying composition with Richard Heuberger and Franz Schreker, he graduated with honors from the Vienna Academy of Music in 1919. That same year, the Vienna Philharmonic performed two of his orchestral pieces. Grosz started a career as a conductor, but soon he found his place as a freelance pianist and composer. As early as 1922, he incorporated jazz elements into art music with his "Jazzband" Sonata for violin and piano. His dance grotesque "Baby in the Bar" and the operatic burlesque "Achtung, Aufnahme!" also resonated with the spirit of the New Objectivity movement. From 1927 onward, Grosz lived in Berlin, where he enjoyed success as a conductor, accompanist, composer, and arranger for the Ultraphon record company.
With Adolf Hitler's rise to power, he was persecuted in Germany as a Jew and returned to Vienna. But even there, the Grosz family no longer felt safe and decided to move to London in 1934. The composer was able to secure his livelihood with popular songs like "Isle of Capri." On the recommendation of his school friend Erich Wolfgang Korngold, he traveled to New York in May 1939. His onward journey to Hollywood was delayed by the outbreak of war. Wilhelm Grosz died unexpectedly from a heart attack that same year. He never arrived in California and subsequently faded into obscurity.
Gottlieb Wallisch (piano) and Malina Höfflin (mezzo-soprano) will perform a selection from the "Symphonic Variations on an Original Theme" (1920), "Love Songs to Folk Song Texts" (1920), "Bänkel und Balladen", Op. 31 (1930), and 12 Improvisations (1938/39). Grosz expert Thomas Gayda talks with Albrecht Dümling.
Concert supported by Bareva Foundation
Following lecture recitals
(175) 7. May 2026: The son of a rabbi: Josef Tal - Piano music from 70 years
(172, re-scheduled) 12. June 2026: Gustav Brecher: Conductor, composer, renovator. A Jewish musician's life between glory and exitus
Entrance fee: 8 Euros
Reservations: Konzerthaus Berlin [www.konzerthaus.de]
Tel.: (030) 20309 - 2101
