“It is impossible to return to these composers what was taken away from them in their lifetime. The only thing we can do is play their music in the present. The young musicians of today will hopefully ensure that it is played in the future and it will become a part of the canon of what we value in classical music.” – James Conlon, Artistic Director, Ziering-Conlon Initiative for Recovered Voices
Ten years ago, the Colburn School hosted its first symposium of the Ziering-Conlon Initiative for Recovered Voices. Established with the support of Los Angeles philanthropist Marilyn Ziering and led by Artistic Director James Conlon, the initiative was created to raise awareness of the composers whose careers and lives were tragically cut short by the Nazi regime in Europe. The two-day event included commentary by Conlon, who personally has dedicated decades to bringing the music of this almost-forgotten generation to new generations of musicians and audiences.
Since its founding, the Ziering-Conlon Initiative for Recovered Voices has become a powerful force for these composers at the Colburn School. Through performances in Southern California and around the world, writings, original video series, a Ted Talk titled “Resurrecting Forbidden Music”, classes, competitions, symposia, recordings, and more, Recovered Voices not only raises awareness among audiences but inspires young musicians to learn about the artists and return to their music throughout their career.
That emphasis on passing the music on to new generations harmoniously aligns with Colburn’s commitment to providing access to excellence in both instruction and performance opportunities. Reflecting on the success of the program, James Conlon said “I am thrilled by the enthusiasm and growing interest in the works of composers who were suppressed during the Nazi regime. Part of my purpose is to expose students to this music, so they experience playing and hearing it, and in so doing, whetting their appetites for more.”
In the past three years alone, Recovered Voices has been a part of 61 live performances in 18 cities across the US and abroad, has collaborated with 34 like-minded organizations, and has produced 26 audio/video recordings. Recovered Voices performances on YouTube have been viewed more than 100,000 times.
“The School can become a leader in exploring the music of suppressed composers because it has an amazingly talented group of musicians,” said Recovered Voices Program Director Adam Millstein, who is also a violinist and a Colburn alumnus. “These composers’ treasure of music has either been lost or rarely performed, so it feels new and fresh. For contemporary musicians, that offers a fertile ground to internalize the music. For me, it was life-changing from the moment I performed it and heard James Conlon speak about it.”
Recent Recovered Voices projects include a world premiere recording of Erwin Schulhoff’s cadenzas for Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 performed by Dominic Cheli and conducted by James Conlon. Erwin Schulhoff (1894–1942) was a fascinating, prolific, and multi-faceted composer who embraced a full panoply of styles and influences from his era. Another recent world premiere recording was made of “Ein Quartett-satz on the Name of Walter Arlen” by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, performed by Conservatory students Adam Millstein, Jason Moon, Shengyu Meng, and Nicolas Garrigues. Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895-1968) was an Italian composer, pianist and writer who emigrated to the United States in 1939 and became a prolific film composer for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, writing scores for 200 Hollywood movies. Both recordings will be released online later this season.
Looking ahead, the 2024–25 season kicks off with a guest appearance by the multiple Grammy Award-nominee ARC Ensemble (Artists of The Royal Conservatory), a likeminded ensemble focused on the research and recovery of works that were suppressed and marginalized under the 20th century’s repressive regimes. Later this fall, the Calidore String Quartet performs the complete cycle of string quartets by William Korngold.
Later this season, Adam Millstein and Dominic Cheli present a duo recital of works by of exiled Austrian composers and Salonen Conducting Fellow Aleksandra Melaniuk leads an orchestral program of works by Mieczysław Weinberg (1919-1996). Despite being a friend and contemporary of Shostakovich, Weinberg’s musical genius of went unrecognized for much of the 20th century due to Soviet-Era suppression. This concert highlights three of Weinberg’s more than 150 works: a playful flute concerto, a concertino for violin and string orchestra, and a dramatic chamber symphony. These Weinberg works will also be recorded under the baton of James Conlon this season along with Franz Schreker’s “Intermezzo” performed by the Academy Virtuosi. Additionally, Recovered Voices will travel to Northern Arizona University and Vanderbilt University as well as hold a master class with the LA Jewish Symphony.
“It is impossible to return to these composers what was taken away from them in their lifetime. The only thing we can do is play their music in the present,” says Conlon. “But we can never consider the work done until a large volume of this music is no longer routinely neglected. The young musicians of today will hopefully ensure that it is played in the future and it will become a part of the canon of what we value in classical music.”
The Ziering-Conlon Initiative for Recovered Voices is grateful to LA Opera’s groundbreaking Recovered Voices project which inspired the program, and Robert Elias for many years of critical support. Recovered Voices is made possible through the generous support of Marilyn Ziering alongside the many donors who are inspired by this incredibly important work at Colburn School.