War of the Romantics: From Salons to Barricades – A Story in Words and Music
Where: The Kosciuszko Foundation, 15 E 65th Street, New York, NY 10065
Who: The cast features an award-winning international ensemble of creative artists, actors, and musicians, including two Polish-born artists:
Ella Remmings, Director, Producer & Playwright
Blair Johnson as Gerhard Denhoff
Jared Michael Delaney as Eduard Hanslick
Katarzyna Salwinski, Pianist & Music Director
Samuel Nebyu, Violinist
Michal Schmidt, Cellist & Pianist
This event has been made possible thanks to funding from the Foundation's Sylvian and Eugene Bobinski Fund.
War of the Romantics tells the story of a musical culture war in 19th century Europe that became political, then personal. This most intense creative rupture in music history turned composers, musicians and audiences against each other in a dispute about tradition vs. progress and the meaning of music itself. Marked by a vicious war of the words in the press and highly charged public demonstrations in concert halls, it was eerily similar to what we are witnessing today in the form of identity or issue politics.
Through an innovative approach that marries theater with music, this ‘classical musical’ transports audiences into the salons and barricades of Vienna, Berlin, Paris, Warsaw, and other major cities. Guided by the vibrant, highly entertaining music critic Gerhard Denhoff and his maverick colleague Eduard Hanslick, we get an intimate look at famous composers—not only as brilliant musicians but, above all, as people—imperfect, unvarnished, and profoundly human. Their music was divine; their lives were anything but.
One part history, one part music, one part humor, and—as one would expect from the Romantics—plenty of drama, War of the Romantics is richly illustrated with Romantic music that reflects the intense emotions of the era and sheds new light on the composers themselves.
By inviting the audience to travel between past and present, reality and imagination—all on a firm foundation of historical facts—War of the Romantics combines what the audience is experiencing now with what the audiences experienced then. It’s like musical time travel, only better.
TO VIEW THE TRAILER, CLICK HERE
TO CHECK OUT THE WAR OF THE ROMANTICS WEBSITE – CLICK HERE
The NYC performance of War of the Romantics was made possible by the generous support of The Kosciuszko Foundation NYC and produced by Image Makers Productions™, Berwyn, PA, (610) 393-3359. All rights reserved.
Featured visual: Ride of the Valkyries by William T. Maud, 1890
