Only the Violins Remain. Alma and Arnold Rosé

The first special exhibition of the House of Austrian History was dedicated to Alma and Arnold Rosé, two icons of Austrian musical life and Viennese high society. In 1938, both Arnold and Alma Rosé’s careers, like those of many others, were abruptly cut short by the „Anschluss”. More than 66,000 Jewish Austrians did not survive the Shoah. Alma Rosé (1906–1944) was one of them.

As the conductor of the women’s orchestra in Auschwitz-Birkenau she was able to save the lives of female Jewish musicians. Her father Arnold Rosé died in exile in London in 1946. For many years, the two musicians were forgotten in Austria. Their famous violins are still played in the major opera houses and concert halls of the world. Since the House of Austrian History opened, the exhibition space on the first floor of the Neue Burg, where changing exhibitions are shown, bears the name “Alma Rosé-Plateau”.

The exhibition catalog offers a detailed insight into the lives of Alma and Arnold Rosé and is available at the hdgö cash desk or online. 

Curators: Michaela Raggam-Blesch, Monika Sommer, Heidemarie Uhl | Exhibition graphics: Fuhrer Wien | Exhibition design: Johann Moser – BWM Architekten und Partner, Sanja Utech, Irina Koerdt – koerdtutech | Sound installation, concept and implementation: Christoph Amann mit Thomas Sandri | Interview Anita Lasker-Wallfisch: Michaela Raggam-Blesch, Christian Haake (Kamera), Birgit Kotz (Transkript) | Project management: Marie Gruber, Enid Wolf (Assistenz) | Object management and loans: Anisa Hasanhodžic | Music-historical consultancy: Barbara Boisits (Kunst-Universität Graz / Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften), Christian Glanz, Anita Mayer-Hirzberger, Matej Santi, Cornelia Szabó-Knotik – Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien | Translation: Lars Fischer (The History Practice, Berlin) | Editing: Julia Friehs | Media: Cat-x | Conservation and restoration: Simon Klampfl, Renée Riedler | Traveling exhibition: Laura Langeder 

January 29–March 1, 2025: Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance | ACF Tel Aviv, Israel
 

January 21–May  15, 2025: University of Haifa | Austrian Cultural Forum Tel Aviv, Israel

March 18–May 1, 2025:  Cylinder Space Suceava | Austrian Cultural Forum Bucharest, Romania
 

October 19–27, 2024: ARCUB | Austrian Cultural Forum Buchrest, Romania

April 4–June 30, 2024: Vienna State Opera, Austria

August 30–December 31, 2023: Philharmonie Köln, Germany

January 25–29, 2023: Theater Bergischer Löwe, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany

March 15–March 25, 2022: Austrian Cultural Forum Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

March 12–May 14, 2020: Spiegelfoyer of the Graz Opera, Austria

March 9–May 30, 2020: Royal Academy of Music, London, UK

January 6–February 28, 2020: University of Western Ontario, London, Canada

October 14–November 16, 2019: Haus der Musik Innsbruck, Austria

November 10, 2018–May 12, 2019: House of Austrian History