A cinematic portrait of the composer Ursula Mamlok, by Anne Berrini
In advance of contemporary chamber music group
Damselfly Trio's April 3rd concert, which foregrounds works by Ursula Mamlok, join us for a screening of
Ursula Mamlok: Movements. In this documentary, filmmaker Anne Berrini offers a sensitive examination of the German-Jewish composer's life and the music that played such a central part in it.
About Ursula Mamlok
Born to a Jewish family in Berlin in 1923, Mamlok was a precocious, talented teenager with a single dream: becoming a composer. Then Germany descended into Nazi oppression, and by the time Mamlok was sixteen, she and her parents made a last-minute escape to Ecuador. Dissatisfied with her new home's lack of musical perspective, the teenager wrote letters to musicians abroad, one of which gained her a scholarship to the Mannes School of Music in New York City. Thus, as a 17-year-old she came to New York, alone, with no money, unable to speak English, and ready to embark on a career that was both trailblazing and successful.
Mamlok would remain in New York City for the next sixty-six years, soaking up inspiration from some of the most important European musicians who were living in exile, as well as from composers from the American avant-garde. She taught composition at the Manhattan School of Music for almost forty years, and her award-winning works became part of the city’s concert life.
In 2006, at age 83, Ursula Mamlok returned to Berlin, the city of her birth: a decision that presented her with new challenges, both musical and emotional.
Advanced registration is required, and please bring a photo ID for check-in. Please note that this event will take place in the Michigan Room, on the 3rd Floor of 150 N. Michigan Ave., in the same building as the Goethe-Institut Chicago.
Presented in partnership with the Dwight and Ursula Mamlok Foundation.
Related Event:
April 3 / 8:30pm / Constellation
Damselfly Trio
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