Sounds and Movies of the Bemidji Symphony Orchestra.
 

Defiant Requiem: Verdi at Terezin    MPR's Michael Barone inteviews composer/conductor Murry Sidlin (May 1, 2011)

Interview done by Michael Barone and Classical MPR.

1. Sidlin came upon the idea for his “Defiant Requiem” music-drama during his tenure as head of orchestral programs at the University of Minnesota:

Finding the book

2. Once aware of the Terezin performances, Sidlin needed further background. Another chance connection, in Portland, Oregon, provided leads:

Looking into the resources

3. Eventually, a revelation!

The revelation

4. For Sidlin, the ‘discovery’ of Krasa’s performance of Verdi at Terezín was a revelation:

Changed his life

5. Terezín was set up by the Nazis as a showplace:

Terezín background

6. The key personality at the core of the Terezín performances was a Jewish musician, Edgar Krasa:

Edgar Krasa

7. Sidlin’s own family has direct links to the Holocaust:

Family history

8. The notion of a concert-drama is not new, but presentation of Verdi in this mode, as the “Defiant Requiem”, is unique:

Concert drama