Hanns Eisler: Deutsche Sinfonie (2G)

A work of resistance

The »German Symphony« is one of the most important works from Hanns Eisler’s time in exile. Begun in the 1930s but not premiered until 1959, for the composer this was a »work of resistance«: a symbol that Germany was not the same as Nazi Germany, that there were other political and cultural voices that spoke for the nation – from the underground, from the concentration camps, from exile. Using texts by Bertolt Brecht and Ignazio Silone, Eisler’s eleven-movement work gives these voices – expressed through sounds, song and speech by an orchestra, choir and soloists – a platform. The result is a powerful musical stand against fascism and war.

The Eisler spotlight in the Elbphilharmonie is complemented by the scenic-musical portrait »Exil in Hollywood« in the Nachtasyl of the Thalia Theatre: Go to the event