Eric Zeisl

Exiled in the USA, Austrian composer Erich Zeisl (1905-1959) became Eric Zeisl. The forfeited ‘h’ in his name could be seen as standing for ‘home’, and therefore perhaps a symbol of the many things that had to be lost in order to gain acceptance and credibility in the new country - the exile California, described as the  “blue sunny grave“ by Zeisl himself.

 

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in collaboration with Thomas Geisler / graphic design and photos by maupi.com

as part of the series Music in Transition:

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The Nazi persecution of Vienna‘s Jewish musicians was an act inhuman, but also incalculable cultural barbarism. The exhibtion series Music in Transition recalls a generation of composers whose work grew out of Vienna‘s musical primacy. Most who survived the Holocaust refused to return to the city that had criminally destroyed their lives and denounced their contributions. In exile, they became a testimony to Vienna‘s past: valued abroad but only distantly remembered at home. Music in Transition is a small step towards the repatriation of their legacy.

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