May Festival

May 17th 2008

Saturday, 8:00 PM

MAY FESTIVAL PRESENTS:
ERIC ZEISL: Requiem Ebraico
Sung in English
BEETHOVEN: Symphony No.9
Sung in German with English supertitles
May 17 8:00 PM
Music Hall

Pre-Concert Dinner
5:45 - 7:30 Corbett Tower, Music Hall

Pre-Concert Recital
7 PM Music Hall
John Aler, tenor

Beethoven's masterful celebration of universal brotherhood, the Symphony No. 9, is being given a record 20th May Festival performance since its debut on the first Festival in 1873. The Symphony, whose remarkable "Ode to Joy" will close this evening's performance, is paired with a poignant work by a composer who is new to the Festival.
Eric Zeisl, who fled from Austria during the time of the Holocaust, is possibly best known for his work in Hollywood, including scores for 20 films such as The Postman Always Rings Twice, Lassie Come Home and Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man. In a departure from his movie career, he composed the hauntingly beautiful Requiem Ebraico in memory of his father, who died in the concentration camp at Treblinka, and in honor of the countless other victims of the Holocaust.
The text, quoted from the 92nd Psalm, is the basis for the Jewish Sabbath celebration but also reflects Zeisl's view that "...there is very much in the 92nd Psalm that suits the occasion.... With a heart full of tears they [the Jews] nevertheless hold on to God and do not cease to thank Him and do not cease to hope...."