Identifier
etd-05272009-222440
Degree
Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA)
Department
Music
Document Type
Dissertation
Abstract
The primary purpose of this document is to provide a comprehensive performer’s guide to Oskar Morawetz’ From the Diary of Anne Frank. Born in Czechoslovakia in 1914, Jewish composer Oskar Morawetz fled Europe and Hitler’s advancing forces shortly before the start of World War II. He arrived in Canada in 1940 where he established himself as a leading composer. In order to avoid revisiting the associated pain of past tragedy, Morawetz did not read the diary of holocaust victim, Anne Frank until 1967. When he did, he was deeply moved and knew immediately he would set a portion of it to music. In pursuing copyright permission for the text, Morawetz began a correspondence with Anne Frank’s father, Otto, which led to a friendship that lasted until Frank’s death in 1980. From the Diary of Anne Frank is written for soprano or mezzo-soprano and orchestra. The text is taken from an entry Anne Frank made in her diary in 1943. In the entry, Anne writes about a dream regarding a school friend, Lies Goosens, who was taken to a concentration camp. In her dream, Anne has seen horrible images and expresses tremendous guilt at her own security when so many of her friends are suffering terrible fates. Morawetz set the moving text in a 19-minute composition that premiered in 1970 and has been performed by many prominent musicians in at least five different countries. This document consists of three chapters. They include biographies of both Oskar Morawetz and Anne Frank, as well as a brief history of Anne Frank’s friendship with Hannah Goslar (Lies Goosens), and a brief history of Anne Frank’s diary. The document also traces the history of From the Diary of Anne Frank, and includes both musical and dramatic analyses of the work. Musical examples and several appendices are included as supplemental aid.
Date
2009
Document Availability at the Time of Submission
Release the entire work immediately for access worldwide.
Recommended Citation
Rhodes, Jami, "A performer's guide to Oskar Morawetz' From the Diary of Anne Frank" (2009). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 3516.
https://repository.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/3516
Committee Chair
Lori Bade
DOI
10.31390/gradschool_dissertations.3516