History of Sorts

The term the Nazis used for how to handle  the Jews was “Ausradieren” or ‘Erase’, this did not only mean to kill every Jew but also ensure that no other Jew would be born again.

But the notion of erasing the Jewish people also meant to erase anything Jewish. Things like Jewish scientific research, literature,art  and music had to be destroyed or replaced.

When it came to music there were composers who we were willing participants in achieving at least the musical part of that aim.

Carl Orff, composer of works like ‘Carmina Burana’ (best known for the piece O Fortuna),

was  among  the few German composers during the Nazi era  who had been hired to write ‘appropriately’ Aryan music to replace the  new incidental music and replace  for ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, which had been composed by the vilified  Jewish composer Felix Mendelssohn.

In 1995, the music critic Alex Ross…