In 1831, Heinrich Heine (1797-1856), probably the greatest of all the German Romantic poets, left Germany for Paris, where he lived the rest of his life as a political exile. His works had been banned in his native country as a result of his radical and publicly aired political beliefs. His conversion to Christianity, which was seen by many of his intimates as a betrayal of his Jewish heritage, further exacerbated his isolation. Heines works were later banned by the Nazis and his grave in Montmartre was destroyed. With a script based on Heines writings, Ray Bradburys Fahrenheit 451, and Wagners infamous essay Judaism in Music, this theatrical concert examines censorship in Heines time and beyond, into the Nazi period. Works of such degenerate composers as Mendelssohn, Zemlinsky, Schoenberg, and Mahler, as well as some of Schubert and Schumanns extraordinary settings of Heines poems, create a concert experience infused with personal and political drama.
