Mauthausen Trilogy

Mauthausen Trilogy
Mauthausen Trilogy
Song cycle by Mikis Theodorakis
	2000 recording cover art
Other name	The Ballad of Mauthausen; Mauthausen Cantata;
Occasion	50th anniversary of liberation of the Mauthausen concentration camp (May 1945)
Text	Iakovos Kambanellis (Greek original), Hebrew version by Elinoar Moav Veniadis, English version by Julie Dennis
Language	Greek, Hebrew, English
Based on	"The Ballad of Mauthausen" (1966)
Composed	1965
Dedication	In Memoriam of Liberation
Performed	7 May 1995: Mauthausen, Austria by Maria Farantouri, Berliner Instrumentalisten, Jouth Choir Haag, Choir of the Herbsttage Blindenmarkt, conducted by Mikis Theodorakis
Published	2000 (CD by pläne), 2018 (digital & remastered by ZAS records)
Recorded	7 May 1995 (live in Mauthausen)
Vocal	English version by Nadja Weinberg, recorded at the Karozas studio in Frankfurt & Hebrew version by Elinoar Moav Veniadi, recorded at the Yossi Ben-Nun studio in Tel Aviv
Premiere
Date	May 1988
Location	Mauthausen, Austria
Conductor	Mikis Theodorakis
Performers	Maria Farandouri (Greek), Elinor Moav (Hebrew), Gisela May (German)
	Simon Wiesenthal (speech), Asteris Koutoulas, Alexandros Karozas & Tim Dowdall (producers)

The "Mauthausen Trilogy", also known as "The Ballad of Mauthausen"^[3] and the "Mauthausen Cantata",^[4] is a cycle of four arias with lyrics based on poems written by Greek poet Iakovos Kambanellis, a Mauthausen concentration camp survivor, and music written by Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis. It has been described as the "most beautiful musical work ever written about the Holocaust",^[5] and as "an exquisite, haunting and passionate melody that moves Kambanellis' affecting words to an even higher level".

In May 1988, the world premiere of the "Trilogy" at the Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria was attended by then Austrian chancellor Franz Vranitzky and tens of thousands of Europeans. The ballad was conducted by Theodorakis and sung by Maria Farandouri in Greek, Elinor Moav in Hebrew and Gisela May in German. In May 1995, Theodorakis conducted a repeat concert of the ballad at the camp to mark the 50th anniversary of its liberation from the Nazis. Before the concert Simon Wiesenthal made a speech, which was included in the Mauthausen Trilogy CD. The Mauthausen Cycle is one of the best known compositions inspired by events at the Mauthausen concentration camp, it is popular in Israel, and has been used to promote peace and cooperation worldwide.^[6] In 1991, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Israel conducted by Zubin Mehta performed the work as part of the Athens Festival.^[7]

The ballad reflects Kambanellis's own experience at Mauthausen, including his love for a Lithuanian-Jewish woman, as it recounts the love affair between a young Greek prisoner and his Jewish love amidst the atrocities they witnessed at the camp. Approximately a year after the release of his ballad, during the premiere of the Mauthausen song cycle in London in 1967, Mikis Theodorakis was imprisoned in Greece by the recently installed Greek military junta and his music was banned in the country.

^ Cite error: The named reference Richman2014p163 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference Epikaira was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Peter Hayes; John K. Roth (22 November 2012). The Oxford Handbook of Holocaust Studies. OUP Oxford. p. 708. ISBN 978-0-19-165079-6.
^ Cite error: The named reference Richman2014 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Αντωνης Μποσκοιτης (2 February 2015). "Αφιέρωμα στη Μπαλάντα του Μάουτχάουζεν του Μίκη Θεοδωράκη και του Ιάκωβου Καμπανέλλη Το ωραιότερο μουσικό έργο για το Ολοκαύτωμα που γράφτηκε ποτέ". Lifo.gr. Retrieved 27 December 2015. Google translation: "A Tribute to Ballad of Mauthausen Mikis Theodorakis and Iakovos Kambanellis The finest musical work about the Holocaust ever written."
^ "Mauthausen". Holocaustmusic.ort.org.
^ ""Μαουτχάουζεν" με την φιλαρμονική ορχήστρα του Ισραήλ και διεύθυνση του Z. Mehta". Μεγάλη Μουσική Βιβλιοθήκη της Ελλάδας.

[Richman2014p163-1] Cite error: The named reference Richman2014p163 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Epikaira-2] Cite error: The named reference Epikaira was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[HayesRoth2012-3] Peter Hayes; John K. Roth (22 November 2012). The Oxford Handbook of Holocaust Studies. OUP Oxford. p. 708. ISBN 978-0-19-165079-6.

[Richman2014-4] Cite error: The named reference Richman2014 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Lifo.gr-5] Αντωνης Μποσκοιτης (2 February 2015). "Αφιέρωμα στη Μπαλάντα του Μάουτχάουζεν του Μίκη Θεοδωράκη και του Ιάκωβου Καμπανέλλη Το ωραιότερο μουσικό έργο για το Ολοκαύτωμα που γράφτηκε ποτέ". Lifo.gr. Retrieved 27 December 2015. Google translation: "A Tribute to Ballad of Mauthausen Mikis Theodorakis and Iakovos Kambanellis The finest musical work about the Holocaust ever written."

[Holocaustmusic-6] "Mauthausen". Holocaustmusic.ort.org.

[mmb.org-7] ""Μαουτχάουζεν" με την φιλαρμονική ορχήστρα του Ισραήλ και διεύθυνση του Z. Mehta". Μεγάλη Μουσική Βιβλιοθήκη της Ελλάδας.

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