On Rzewski's The Triumph of Death: Coping with the Holocaust in the 1980s

摘要

After the Second World War, the artistic consciousness of Europe began to address the horrific reality surrounding genocide under fascism. This article relates Rzewski's oratorio-like work The Triumph of Death (1988) for string quartet, voices and conductor, to the specific mode of coping with the extermination of the European Jews prevalent in the 1980s. In the context of this phase of dealing with the Holocaust, the musical means employed in the composition adopt specific meaning. Drawing on the increased interest in psychologization among intellectuals which emerged in the 1960s and 70s, the elements of instrumental theatre stimulate the quasi-psychoanalytical technique of association; the juxtaposition of styles—folk, social dance and postminimalist-contemporary music—complies with the grotesque dance-of-death-like atmosphere created in the libretto. The musical stream specific of the postminimalist style responds to the increasing tendency toward universalizing and ‘eternalizing’ of the Holocaust, which was typical of the 1980s.View full textDownload full textKeywordsHolocaust, Peter Weiss, Claude Lanzmann, String Quartet, Auschwitz, Postminimalism, Instrumental TheatreRelated var addthis_config = { ui_cobrand: "Taylor & Francis Online", services_compact: "citeulike,netvibes,twitter,technorati,delicious,linkedin,facebook,stumbleupon,digg,google,more", pubid: "ra-4dff56cd6bb1830b" }; Add to shortlist Link Permalink http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07494467.2010.619748