Alice Herz-Sommer (1903-2014)

[Penny]

I was saddened last night to read of the passing of Alice Herz-Sommer, the world's oldest Holocaust survivor, who has died in London aged 110.  A concert pianist, born into a Jewish family in Prague in 1903, she and her young son were imprisoned in Theresienstadt during World War II.  She was an inspiring lady and someone I would very much have liked to meet - she had a fascinating life and met many famous people including Gustav Mahler - probably she was our last living link to the composer.  Alice loved the "Urlicht" from the Resurrection Symphony - "Ich bin von Gott und will wieder zu Gott...."  Rest in peace Alice. 

[waderice]

Do you have a link to the obituary that mentions her meeting Mahler?  Those that I've seen make no mention of this.

Thanks, Wade

[James Meckley]

Do you have a link to the obituary that mentions her meeting Mahler?  Those that I've seen make no mention of this.

Googling "Alice Herz-Sommer Mahler" will bring up many references, but some contain questionable information. For instance, The Guardian writes "...Herz-Sommer remembered the premiere of [Mahler's] second symphony when she was about eight." Since M2 was premiered in 1895 and Ms. Herz-Sommer wasn't born until 1903, it's hard to know what to make of her claim. It's possible she confused M2 with M8, the premiere of which would fit nicely into this timeline.

James

[Penny]

The quote from Caroline Stoessinger's book, "A Century of Wisdom" is as follows:  “Alice remembers accompanying her mother by train to Vienna two days before her fourth birthday to hear Mahler conduct the farewell performance of his Second Symphony with the Hofoper Orchestra on November 24th 1907.  Alice said that after the concert her mother talked with the composer and then ‘I spoke a little bit with Gustav Mahler’.  Alice tucks in her lips and raises her shoulders in her expression of wonder at that moment in the presence of genius.”

I hope this helps!

[barry guerrero]

So the claim that she was at the premiere is, quite obviously, erroneous. Equally obvious, she would have been at most 4 in 1907.

Barry

[Penny]

Yes, it was not the premiere she attended but the farewell performance - and she would have to have been an exceptional four-year-old to have sat still and behaved herself throughout such a lengthy symphony!  Assuming the account in the book is true, I have to question how much a four-year-old would understand or remember the meeting - I imagine her mother might have reminded her of it or explained the significance when she was older. 

[pianobaba]

She was a remarkable woman. I think it very possible that a musically inclined 4 year old could have sat through a Mahler symphony in 1907. European kids back then were a lot different than North American kids these days!

I saw Verdi in Budapest at the state opera a couple years ago, and I noticed several young children in attendance nearby who were extremely well behaved (whereas you would groan going to see Mahler in North America and have someone with a small child sit near you).

6 months ago I was thinking just how cool it was to think that someone still alive today (6 months ago) had actually met Mahler. That's no longer the case