Music: Im Kampf mit dem Berge

RUTH SCHÖNTHAL (1924-2006)
Concerto for horn and chamber orchestra (1980)

IM KAMPF MIT DEM BERGE (Silent film, DE, 1921)
Director: Arnold Fanck (1889-1974)
Music: Paul Hindemith (1895-1961)

JEWISH
There were several Jewish pioneers of alpinism when the bourgeoisie began to conquer the mountains in the 19th century. They disprove the prejudice about ‘Jewish unathleticism’ and the perception of Jewish life as mainly urban. We may be familiar with the exceptional mountaineer Paul Preuss, but the names of most of these pioneers are forgotten today - from the 1910s onwards, they experienced anti-Semitism and were excluded from the Alpine associations.

TODAY
Alpine music is brass music, but contemporary horn concertos do not often appear on concert programmes. We are delighted to be playing the horn concerto by Jewish composer Ruth Schönthal - the soloist is a musician who is rooted in the mountains and traditional brass music: horn player Christian Loferer from Chiemgau.

FOR ALL
The mountain images, icy landscapes and weather panoramas of the silent film ‘Im Kampf mit dem Berge’ are just as impressive today as they were a hundred years ago. Set to music by Paul Hindemith, the plot of the film - the ascent of the Liskamm in the Matterhorn glacier area - fades into the background: ‘An Alpine Symphony in Pictures’ delights mountain lovers and concert-goers alike.

Photo: Thomas Dashuber

Daniel Grossmann

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