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film & livemusic

Die Stadt ohne Juden
Olga Neuwirth

 

next & recent performances

28. May 2026 Semperoper Dresden

14.6.2024 Tangente St. Pölten, Festspielhaus
27.&28.7.2024 Salzburger Festspiele, SZENE Salzburg
13.5.2023 Berlin, Akademie der Künste
06.02.2023 Graz,  Oper Graz

07.11.2018 Vienna, Wiener Konzerthaus (wp)

 

Conductor

Nacho de Paz

PHACE

Walter Seebacher, clarinet
Reinhold Brunner, clarinet (Graz)
Michael Krenn, saxophone
Spiros Laskaridis, trumpet
Stefan Obmann, trombone
Samuel Toro Perez, electric guitar (Berlin, St. Pölten, Salzburg)
Francesco Palmieri, electric guitar (Graz)
Tom Pauwels, electric guitar (Berlin)
Felix Pöchhacker, electric guitar
Petra Ackermann, viola
Roland Schueler, cello
Barbara Riccabona, cello (Berlin)
Mathilde Hoursiangou, keyboard
Manuel Alcaraz Clemente, percussion (St. Pölten, Salzburg)
Berndt Thurner, percussion
Alfred Reiter, sound

The cooperation of PHACE and Nacho de Paz is kindly supported by Acción Cultural Española (AC/E) / PICE.

supported by Bundeskanzleramt Österreich, City of Vienna, SKE-Fonds.

 

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Stummfilm
Die Stadt ohne Juden  (Österreich, 1924)

Regie: Hans Karl Breslauer
Musik: Olga Neuwirth (2017)

Comissioned by Wiener Konzerthaus, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Barbican Centre and Sinfonieorchester Basel. 

The silent film THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS is now considered one of the most important Austrian productions of the interwar period. In an irritatingly prophetic way, it shows the cultural and economic impoverishment of a city after the expulsion of the Jewish population. The work was only preserved in a fragmentary version – also trivializing its content – until the Austrian Film Archive finally rediscovered the missing parts in France.

 

Die Stadt ohne Juden. (c)Markus Bruckner)

It is a unique document with a unique story: Hans Karl Breslauer’s silent film stimulates deep reflection, about historical time, about the blindness of contemporaries, about our present and future itself. On the eponymous “„Die Stadt ohne Juden – ein Roman von übermorgen“ by the Jewish writer and journalist Hugo Bettauer (1872 – 1925), the film was shot in Vienna in 1924. In an irritatingly prophetic way, it shows – 15 years before the November pogroms – the escalating anti-Semitism of the time and the impoverishment of a city in all areas of life after the expulsion of the Jewish population. The work, long preserved only in a fragmentary version, was rediscovered and restored at a Paris flea market in 2015. On the occasion of the publication of the newly restored version, the Austrian composer Olga Neuwirth (*1968) wrote new film music on behalf of the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg and others in 2017, played live by PHACE alongside the film.

Filmarchiv Austria: Die Stadt ohne Juden

“It is very rare to get such a dense and emotionally stirring experience as “The City Without Jews” in the Graz Opera. […] A large part of the effect can also be attributed to the PHACE ensemble which, under the direction of Nacho de Paz, creates an atmosphere full of dark nuances from Neuwirth’s music conglomerate.”
Kronen Zeitung, 8.2.2023 [Translated]

Semperoper Dresden 2026

For the “Year of Jewish Culture in Saxony 2026,” the Semperoper is showing Hans Karl Breslauer’s 1924 silent film The City Without Jews for the first time, with live music by the renowned composer Olga Neuwirth.

28. May 2026
19 Uhr
Semperoper Dresden

Conductor: Nacho de Paz
PHACE

Speaker:  Jörg Schüttauf

Salzburger Festspiele 2024

Sa. 27. Juli – So. 28. Juli

2 concerts

Program

Hanns Eisler

Vierzehn Arten den Regen zu beschreiben — Variationen für Flöte, Klarinette, Violine, Viola, Violoncello und Klavier

 

Die Stadt ohne Juden

Stummfilm von Hans Karl Breslauer, Österreich, 1924 — Rekonstruierte und restaurierte Fassung (s /w, 82 min., © Filmarchiv Austria 2018)

Olga Neuwirth

Musik zum Stummfilm Die Stadt ohne Juden von Hans Karl Breslauer für verstärktes Ensemble und Zuspielung

 

 

Tangente St. Pölten 2024

Fr. 14. Juni 2024
19:30

Festspielhaus St. Pölten
Tangente St. Pölten – Festival für Gegenwartskultur

Information & Tickets

Eine Veranstaltung der Tangente St. Pölten – Festival für Gegenwartskultur in Kooperation mit Festspielhaus St. Pölten im Rahmen der Jewish Weekends – Festival für jüdische Kultur der Ehemaligen Synagoge St. Pölten.

World premiere, Wiener Konzerthaus 2018

7. November 2018
Wiener Konzerthaus, Wien Modern 31

»Hans Karl Breslauer: Die Stadt ohne Juden«

Eine gemeinsame Produktion von Wiener Konzerthaus, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Barbican Centre, Sinfonieorchester Basel und ZDF/ARTE in Kooperation mit Wien Modern und Filmarchiv Austria

“What can be experienced in the concert hall this evening […] is not a silent film. Not a silent film with music either. From the first moment, sound and images merge to form a breathing organism. The sounds alone immediately draw the viewer into this almost 100-year-old world full of frock coats, hats and dramatic make-up around the eyes. At the beginning, the electronics cause the entire room to vibrate with a deep hum; during the service in the synagogue, circling spherical sounds create the impression of distant, mournful voices, as if they point to the terrible future. Neuwirth quotes various styles with virtuosity: there is a hint of Debussy in the saxophone and a shtetl wistfulness in the clarinet, and of course Alpine folk music is not far away either. Neuwirth’s idiosyncratic style and her high tonal sensitivity remain unmistakable. The composer even gets involved in the film’s sometimes crude satirical humor, although today’s viewers can easily find themselves laughing at the subject. […] “The Viennese drinks to forget,” says Neuwirth the day after the premiere. “When you forget, a lot of things get repressed. Especially when it comes to the Nazi past.“
Hamburger Abendblatt, 27.11.2018 [Translated]

Press reviews

“Im Gegenzug habe ich nicht das Gefühl, dass [Olga Neuwirth] ungetrübte Freude an Breslauers Film hatte. Ihre üppig modernistische Partitur hält, trotz einiger verschmitzt illustrierenden Passagen, Abstand zu ihm. Sie folgt ihm nicht, sondern setzt eigene Akzente. Seine komischen Aspekte verlocken die Komponistin nicht, allenfalls die satirischen. Zum Vorspann schweigt das fabelhafte Ensemble »PHACE« noch; die Partitur nähert sich den Bildern zunächst mit einem dezent dräuenden Sounddesign. Tumult wird es noch genug geben in dieser Musik. Sie ist eine fulminante Parallel-, auch Gegenerzählung.”
epd Film, 1.4.2019

“Ein bläser- und elektroniklastiger Fluss, der die laufenden Stummfilmbilder nicht bloß illustriert, sondern auch kommentiert. […] Das Nonett PHACE aus Wien lieferte unter dem Madrilenen Nacho de Paz so subtil wie konzentriert die punktgenaue Tonspur zu dieser Stummfilm-Perle, die Zeitdokument und Fanal der Weltkatastrophe zugleich ist.”
Kleine Zeitung, 8.2.2023

“Hamburg. Gespannte Stille in Halle K 6 auf Kampnagel. Selbst die Musiker des Ensemble Phace unter der Leitung von Nacho de Paz, die im Halbrund auf der komplett schwarzen Bühne Platz genommen haben, bewegen sich kaum, als der Vorspann zum Stummfilm „Die Stadt ohne Juden“ von Hans Karl Breslauer aus dem Jahr 1924 anläuft. Auch nach dem Einsetzen der Musik von Olga Neuwirth: große Konzentration bei den Zuhörern, die sich nach 80 Minuten mit begeistertem Schlussapplaus löst.”
Hamburger Abendblatt, 29.11.2018

“Die Streitgespräche von Wirtshausgästen lässt die österreichische Komponistin von den Bläsern des Ensembles PHACE unter der Leitung von Nacho de Paz komödiantisch kommentieren. Die antisemitischen Äußerungen der Betrunkenen untermalt sie mit Jodlern. In den bedrohlich brodelnden Synthesizer-Teppich webt sie punktgenau Klänge ein, welche die Handlung kommentieren – wenn Sessel im Wirtshaus hinunterfallen und Gongs erklingen. Olga Neuwirth bringt Farbe in den Schwarz-Weiß-Film, indem sie Szenen, die das jüdische Gemeinschaftsleben abbilden, mit orientalischen Klängen und Klezmermusik untermalt oder die Instrumente untypisch einsetzt. Einmal lässt sie die Trompeten regelrecht schreien, dann wieder Trompeter in die Instrumente blasen, dass man an keuchende Dampfloks denkt.”
Salzburger Nachrichten, 09.11.2018

Ausgerechnet in diesen Zeiten erlebt Neuwirths Vertonung ihre Uraufführung im Wiener Konzerthaus. Ein prominenterer Ort wäre kaum denkbar. Das Konzert ist ausverkauft, das Jugendstilgebäude summt vor festlicher Erwartung. Was an diesem Abend im Konzerthaus zu erleben ist und was am 28. November also auch auf Kampnagel zu sehen sein wird, ist kein Stummfilm. Auch kein Stummfilm mit Musik. Vom ersten Moment an verschmelzen Ton und Bilder zum atmenden Organismus.
Hamburger Abendblatt, 27.11.2018

  • Die Stadt ohne Juden. (c)Markus Bruckner)
  • Die Stadt ohne Juden. (c)Markus Bruckner)
  • Die Stadt ohne Juden. (c)Markus Bruckner)
  • Olga Neuwirth & Nacho de Paz (c)Markus Bruckner
  • Olga Neuwirth & Nacho de Paz (c)Markus Bruckner
PHACE_supported_by_ske-bmkoes-stadtwien_logoblock

Event Dates

November 2018
  • Date
    Project
    Location
  • 07.Nov.2018 19:30

    Stadt ohne Juden

    Wien, Wiener Konzerthaus
    Stadt ohne Juden

    The City without Jews (Austria, 1924)

    directed by: Hans Karl Breslauer
    music: Olga Neuwirth (2017)

    The silent film THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS (1924), one of the most important Austrian productions of the interwar period. H. K. Breslauer's satirical dystopia shows the cultural and economic impoverishment of a city that drives out its Jewish population, and in its portrayal of murderous anti-Semitism in Vienna in the aftermath of the First World War, it is disconcertingly irritating and prophetic.

    Read more
  • 15.Nov.2018 19:00

    Stadt ohne Juden

    London, Barbican
    Stadt ohne Juden

    The City without Jews (Austria, 1924)

    directed by: Hans Karl Breslauer
    music: Olga Neuwirth (2017)

    The silent film THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS (1924), one of the most important Austrian productions of the interwar period. H. K. Breslauer's satirical dystopia shows the cultural and economic impoverishment of a city that drives out its Jewish population, and in its portrayal of murderous anti-Semitism in Vienna in the aftermath of the First World War, it is disconcertingly irritating and prophetic.

    Read more
  • 28.Nov.2018 20:00

    Stadt ohne Juden

    Hamburg, Kampnagel K6- Greatest Hits
    Stadt ohne Juden

    The City without Jews (Austria, 1924)

    directed by: Hans Karl Breslauer
    music: Olga Neuwirth (2017)

    The silent film THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS (1924), one of the most important Austrian productions of the interwar period. H. K. Breslauer's satirical dystopia shows the cultural and economic impoverishment of a city that drives out its Jewish population, and in its portrayal of murderous anti-Semitism in Vienna in the aftermath of the First World War, it is disconcertingly irritating and prophetic.

    Read more
September 2019
  • Date
    Project
    Location
  • 24.Sep.2019 20:00

    Die Stadt ohne Juden

    Frankfurt, Alte Oper - Mozartsaal
    Die Stadt ohne Juden

    The City without Jews (Austria, 1924)

    directed by: Hans Karl Breslauer
    music: Olga Neuwirth (2017)

    The silent film THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS (1924), one of the most important Austrian productions of the interwar period. H. K. Breslauer's satirical dystopia shows the cultural and economic impoverishment of a city that drives out its Jewish population, and in its portrayal of murderous anti-Semitism in Vienna in the aftermath of the First World War, it is disconcertingly irritating and prophetic.

    Read more
March 2020
  • Date
    Project
    Location
  • 28.Mar.2020 21:00

    Stadt ohne Juden (cancellation due to government policies to prevent the spread of the corona virus)

    Salzburg
    Stadt ohne Juden (cancellation due to government policies to prevent the spread of the corona virus)

    The City without Jews (Austria, 1924)

    directed by: Hans Karl Breslauer
    music: Olga Neuwirth (2017)

    The silent film THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS (1924), one of the most important Austrian productions of the interwar period. H. K. Breslauer's satirical dystopia shows the cultural and economic impoverishment of a city that drives out its Jewish population, and in its portrayal of murderous anti-Semitism in Vienna in the aftermath of the First World War, it is disconcertingly irritating and prophetic.

    Read more
May 2020
  • Date
    Project
    Location
  • 23.May.2020 20:00

    Die Stadt ohne Juden (Cancellation due to COVID-19)

    Gent, Music Centre De Bijloke
    Die Stadt ohne Juden (Cancellation due to COVID-19)

    The City without Jews (Austria, 1924)

    directed by: Hans Karl Breslauer
    music: Olga Neuwirth (2017)

    The silent film THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS (1924), one of the most important Austrian productions of the interwar period. H. K. Breslauer's satirical dystopia shows the cultural and economic impoverishment of a city that drives out its Jewish population, and in its portrayal of murderous anti-Semitism in Vienna in the aftermath of the First World War, it is disconcertingly irritating and prophetic.

    Read more
June 2020
  • Date
    Project
    Location
  • 08.Jun.2020 11:30

    Die Stadt ohne Juden (Cancellation due to COVID-19)

    Vienna, LE STUDIO (Schulveranstaltung)
    Die Stadt ohne Juden (Cancellation due to COVID-19)

    The City without Jews (Austria, 1924)

    directed by: Hans Karl Breslauer
    music: Olga Neuwirth (2017)

    The silent film THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS (1924), one of the most important Austrian productions of the interwar period. H. K. Breslauer's satirical dystopia shows the cultural and economic impoverishment of a city that drives out its Jewish population, and in its portrayal of murderous anti-Semitism in Vienna in the aftermath of the First World War, it is disconcertingly irritating and prophetic.

    Read more
  • 08.Jun.2020 20:00

    Die Stadt ohne Juden (Cancellation due to COVID-19)

    Vienna, LE STUDIO
    Die Stadt ohne Juden (Cancellation due to COVID-19)

    The City without Jews (Austria, 1924)

    directed by: Hans Karl Breslauer
    music: Olga Neuwirth (2017)

    The silent film THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS (1924), one of the most important Austrian productions of the interwar period. H. K. Breslauer's satirical dystopia shows the cultural and economic impoverishment of a city that drives out its Jewish population, and in its portrayal of murderous anti-Semitism in Vienna in the aftermath of the First World War, it is disconcertingly irritating and prophetic.

    Read more
December 2020
  • Date
    Project
    Location
  • 06.Dec.2020 20:30

    Die Stadt ohne Juden - Olga Neuwirth (cancelled due to Covid-19)

    Graz, Oper Graz
    Die Stadt ohne Juden - Olga Neuwirth (cancelled due to Covid-19)

    The City without Jews (Austria, 1924)

    directed by: Hans Karl Breslauer
    music: Olga Neuwirth (2017)

    The silent film THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS (1924), one of the most important Austrian productions of the interwar period. H. K. Breslauer's satirical dystopia shows the cultural and economic impoverishment of a city that drives out its Jewish population, and in its portrayal of murderous anti-Semitism in Vienna in the aftermath of the First World War, it is disconcertingly irritating and prophetic.

    Read more
March 2021
  • Date
    Project
    Location
  • 06.Mar.2021 21:00

    Die Stadt ohne Juden (Covid19-cancellation!)

    Salzburg, Aspekte Festival
    Die Stadt ohne Juden (Covid19-cancellation!)

    The City without Jews (Austria, 1924)

    directed by: Hans Karl Breslauer
    music: Olga Neuwirth (2017)

    The silent film THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS (1924), one of the most important Austrian productions of the interwar period. H. K. Breslauer's satirical dystopia shows the cultural and economic impoverishment of a city that drives out its Jewish population, and in its portrayal of murderous anti-Semitism in Vienna in the aftermath of the First World War, it is disconcertingly irritating and prophetic.

    Read more
February 2023
  • Date
    Project
    Location
  • 06.Feb.2023 19:30

    The City without Jews

    Graz, Opera
    The City without Jews

    The City without Jews (Austria, 1924)

    directed by: Hans Karl Breslauer
    music: Olga Neuwirth (2017)

    The silent film THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS (1924), one of the most important Austrian productions of the interwar period. H. K. Breslauer's satirical dystopia shows the cultural and economic impoverishment of a city that drives out its Jewish population, and in its portrayal of murderous anti-Semitism in Vienna in the aftermath of the First World War, it is disconcertingly irritating and prophetic.

    Read more
May 2023
  • Date
    Project
    Location
  • 13.May.2023 19:30

    Stadt ohne Juden

    Akademie der Künste / Berlin
    Stadt ohne Juden

    The City without Jews (Austria, 1924)

    directed by: Hans Karl Breslauer
    music: Olga Neuwirth (2017)

    The silent film THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS (1924), one of the most important Austrian productions of the interwar period. H. K. Breslauer's satirical dystopia shows the cultural and economic impoverishment of a city that drives out its Jewish population, and in its portrayal of murderous anti-Semitism in Vienna in the aftermath of the First World War, it is disconcertingly irritating and prophetic.

    Read more
June 2024
  • Date
    Project
    Location
  • 14.Jun.2024 19:30

    Die Stadt ohne Juden

    Tangente St. Pölten
    Die Stadt ohne Juden

    The City without Jews (Austria, 1924)

    directed by: Hans Karl Breslauer
    music: Olga Neuwirth (2017)

    The silent film THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS (1924), one of the most important Austrian productions of the interwar period. H. K. Breslauer's satirical dystopia shows the cultural and economic impoverishment of a city that drives out its Jewish population, and in its portrayal of murderous anti-Semitism in Vienna in the aftermath of the First World War, it is disconcertingly irritating and prophetic.

    Read more
July 2024
  • Date
    Project
    Location
  • 27.Jul.2024 18:00

    Die Stadt ohne Juden

    Salzburger Festspiele, SZENE
    Die Stadt ohne Juden

    The City without Jews (Austria, 1924)

    directed by: Hans Karl Breslauer
    music: Olga Neuwirth (2017)

    The silent film THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS (1924), one of the most important Austrian productions of the interwar period. H. K. Breslauer's satirical dystopia shows the cultural and economic impoverishment of a city that drives out its Jewish population, and in its portrayal of murderous anti-Semitism in Vienna in the aftermath of the First World War, it is disconcertingly irritating and prophetic.

    Read more
  • 28.Jul.2024 18:00

    Die Stadt ohne Juden

    Salzburger Festspiele, SZENE
    Die Stadt ohne Juden

    The City without Jews (Austria, 1924)

    directed by: Hans Karl Breslauer
    music: Olga Neuwirth (2017)

    The silent film THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS (1924), one of the most important Austrian productions of the interwar period. H. K. Breslauer's satirical dystopia shows the cultural and economic impoverishment of a city that drives out its Jewish population, and in its portrayal of murderous anti-Semitism in Vienna in the aftermath of the First World War, it is disconcertingly irritating and prophetic.

    Read more
May 2026
  • Date
    Project
    Location
  • 28.May.2026 19:00

    Die Stadt ohne Juden

    Dresden, Semperoper
    Die Stadt ohne Juden

    The City without Jews (Austria, 1924)

    directed by: Hans Karl Breslauer
    music: Olga Neuwirth (2017)

    The silent film THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS (1924), one of the most important Austrian productions of the interwar period. H. K. Breslauer's satirical dystopia shows the cultural and economic impoverishment of a city that drives out its Jewish population, and in its portrayal of murderous anti-Semitism in Vienna in the aftermath of the First World War, it is disconcertingly irritating and prophetic.

    Read more

 

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