IN THE FIGHT WITH THE MOUNTAINS(Silent film, DE, 1921) Director: Arnold Fanck (1889–1974) Music: Paul Hindemith (1895–1961)
Christian Loferer, Horn
Daniel Grossmann, conductor
JEWISH
There were several Jewish pioneers of mountaineering when the middle classes began to conquer the mountains in the 19th century. They refute the prejudice about 'Jewish lack of sportiness' and the perception of Jewish life as mainly urban. One may know 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 clubs.
TODAY Alpine music is wind music, but contemporary horn concertos do not often appear on concert programs. We are delighted to play the horn concerto by the Jewish composer Ruth Schönthal - the soloist is a musician with roots in the mountains and also in traditional wind music: the horn player Christian Loferer from Chiemgau.
FOR ALL The mountain images, ice landscapes and weather panoramas of the silent film 'In Battle with the Mountains' are just as impressive today as they were a hundred years ago. To the music of Paul Hindemith, the plot of the film - the ascent of the Liskamm in the glacier area of the Matterhorn - takes a back seat: 'An Alpine Symphony in Pictures' delights mountain lovers and concertgoers alike.
