Interview with the Austrian pianist Gerhard Gruber
The restored version of the silent film “Die Stadt ohne Juden/The City Without Jews”, a masterpiece of expressionist cinema has been screened in Bucharest, as part of a special cine-concert by pianist Gerhard Gruber, at the State Jewish Theatre.
Radio România Internațional, 02.05.2025, 13:55
The silent film “Die Stadt ohne Juden/The City Without Jews” is one of the most important Austrian films of the interwar period, a premonitory work of art which depicts the cultural and economic impoverishment of a city after the expulsion of its Jewish population.
Discovered almost by chance, in 1991, in the Amsterdam film archive and then partially completed in 2015 with scenes found by researchers in a flea market, restored and relaunched on the international film scene, “The City Without Jews” is a blockbuster of its time. The film, made in 1924 by Hans Karl Breslauer, is a powerful adaptation of the novel of the same name written by Hugo Bettauer in 1922. But beyond its socio-political content, the movie is of exceptional artistic importance, being one of the masterpieces of expressionist cinema.
The action of the film takes place in the imaginary republic of Utopia. In the wake of a deep economic crisis, people start talking in the city about the idea of a possible expulsion of the Jews which would allegedly lead to a business recovery. After the fast adoption of an anti-Semitic law, all Jews are forced to leave the city and head for the Palestinian city of Zion. The consequences are, however, different.
The Austrian pianist Gerhard Gruber is the one who adds a musical dimension to the silent film. Born in 1951, he is an outstanding performer and composer of theatre music. His repertoire includes over 700 silent film productions whose soundtracks he has recreated during live performances.
In the context of the Holocaust Remembrance Day commemorating the end of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising (May 16, 1943), the restored version of this centennial creation by Filmarchiv Austria was screened in Romania, as part of a special cine-concert by pianist Gerhard Gruber, at the State Jewish Theatre in Bucharest, on April 29, in the presence of Mrs. Ulla Krauss-Nussbaumer, Austrian Ambassador to Romania.
The screening in the Romanian capital city was followed by a discussion with the pianist, moderated by Adrian Cioflâncă, director of the “Wilhelm Filderman” Center for the Study of the History of Jews in Romania. On that occasion, RRI’s Eugen Cojocariu had a talk with pianist Gerhard Gruber, on the music of this special film, presented to the Romanian public under a project by the Austrian Cultural Forum, in partnership with the State Jewish Theater.
