Wolf Durmashkin (Wulf Duhr-MASH-k'n) (Lithuania, March 7, 1914 in Lithuania – September 18 or 19, 1944 in Klooga concentration camp, Estonia) was a Jewish composer, conductor and pianist in Vilnius (then known as Vilna), Lithuania.

Life

Wolf Durmashkin was born in Lithuania, the exact place of birth is unknown. He was the son of Akiva Durmashkin, liturgical music director and choir leader, and Shayna Durmashkin. His sisters were Fania Durmashkin and Henia Durmashkin.[1]

He graduated from the Vilna Conservatory of Music and the Warsaw Conservatory. He produced and directed the opera Aida in Hebrew.[2]

Wolf Durmashkin was appointed conductor of the Vilna Symphony in 1939 at the age of 25. He organized a symphony orchestra and a 100-voice Hebrew choir while incarcerated in the Vilna Ghetto.

The ghetto orchestra performed 35 chamber and symphonic concerts in the 15 months of its existence under his direction.

In September 1943 when the Vilna Ghetto was liquidated, Wolf Durmashkin was taken to the Klooga, Estonia concentration camp.

He was executed on September 18 or 19, 1944.[3]

Wolf Durmashkin Composition Award

The Wolf Durmashkin Composition Award (WDCA) is an international composition contest, as well as a music- and composition award designed by the German cultural society dieKunstBauStelle in Landsberg am Lech. It is named after Wolf Durmashkin. The award was founded in 2018 by Karla Schönebeck and Wolfgang Hauck.[4] The cause was the 70th anniversary of a concert played by Jewish Holocaust survivors from the DP-Orchestra in Landsberg am Lech on 10 May 1948. It was conducted by Leonard Bernstein.[5]

Literature

  • Herman Kruk, "The Last Days of the Jerusalem of Lithuania, Chronicles from the Vilna Ghetto and the Camps, 1939–1944, trans. By Barbara Harshav (New York: YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, 2002)
  • Rachel Kostanian-Danzig, "Spiritual Resistance in the Vilna Ghetto (Vilna: Vilna Gaon Jewish State Museum), 112
  • Cantore natan Stolnitz, “Akiva Durmashkin and His Influence on Liturgical Music in Old Radom, " The Radomer Voice, April 1964
  • Sonia Beker, "Symphony on Fire: A Story of Music and Spiritual Resistance During the Holocaust,” The Wordsmithy LLC, 2007), ISBN 978-0974885759

References

  1. ↑ Beker, Sonia (2007). Symphony on Fire: A Story of Music and Spiritual Resistance During the Holocaust. USA: The Wordsmithy LLC. p. 31. ISBN 978-0974885759.
  2. ↑ Beker, Sonia (2007). Symphony on Fire: A Story of Music and Spiritual Resistance During the Holocaust. USA: The Wordsmithy LLC. p. 44. ISBN 978-0974885759.
  3. ↑ Sisters remember sisters — and ‘superstar’ uncle killed in Holocaust, Lois Goldrich, Jewish Standard, 4 January 2018, retrieved 11 February 2021
  4. ↑ Sisters remember sisters — and ‘superstar’ uncle killed in Holocaust, Lois Goldrich, Jewish Standard, 4 January 2018, retrieved 11 February 2021
  5. ↑ Zum Gedenken an Ex-KZ-Orchester, BR-Klassik, Franziska Stürz, 9 May 2018, retrieved 21 December 2020
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