Many of you will have attended the illustrated talk given by Dessa last November when she talked about her painting centred around the opera Peter Grimes, by Benjamin Britten. The talk was received with great enthusiasm and Dessa led a lively discussion with many questions afterwards. Our next outing for the Art Appreciation group will be on March 13 to Dessa ‘s new exhibition on a different theme at the “Fondation L’Estrée“. This venue is a converted barn arranged so that the paintings can be displayed and the music that inspired them can be listened to via headphones. Dessa has kindly agreed to guide us through the exhibition personally. The focus of this exhibition is paintings inspired by the conductor and composer Viktor Ullman and includes pictures based on original pieces not previously heard.

Viktor Ullman was born in 1898 in Teschen, then part of the Austro-Hungarian empire. He attended Gymnasium in Vienna and, after volunteering for military service, studied law at the university of Vienna. He also attended Schoenberg’s composition seminar and in 1919 left Vienna for Prague where he devoted himself fully to music. He became conductor to the New German Theatre of Prague and composed works for the piano, string quartets and chamber orchestra. In 1942 he was deported to Theresienstadt (also known as Terezin) concentration camp, in what is now the Czech Republic, not far from Prague. Many of the manuscripts for his works disappeared during the German occupation. He continued to be active musically in the camp organising concerts and also composing. Among these works was his Piano concerto no.7 and a chamber opera, The Emperor of Atlantis, which was due to be performed in the autumn of 1944. Tragically, he was deported to Auschwitz concentration camp before the opera could be performed and his works were left with his friend. After the war ended his scores were taken to England in 1945. These works were later performed and some examples can be heard via you-tube.

We will meet at 14:00 on Monday 13 March at the gallery. We will try to help with car sharing for those without transport as the journey by train is rather complex. There is a café on site where we can have coffee afterwards. We do hope many of you will take advantage of this opportunity – please let Alison King or Margaret Ellison know if you would like to participate. Contact art@iwc-lausanne.org  for any further information.