Ullmann

Then Ullmann and Kien's taunting opening "Hello, hello!" launched us precipitously into the fevered world of artists who had everything to lose, and did.

Writing Death's Gentle Aria in the Face of Despair 2011

That Ullmann and Kien could write such wishful thinking about the changeable hearts of tyrants and posit hope for peaceful life and death makes the piece even sadder.

Writing Death's Gentle Aria in the Face of Despair 2011

Next door, another German publisher has copies of Ars Sacra: Christian Art in the Western World on display, Ullmann, editor Rolf Toman; photographer Achim Bedmorz, $199, 1,100 images, 800 pages, 24 lbs and 20.9 x 15.1 x 4.8 inches.

Amazing Illustrated Art Books And Their Brilliant Publishers (PHOTOS) 2011

Ullmann, who studied with Arnold Schoenberg and worked with Alexander Zemlinsky, combined the jazzy, acerbic sound of Weimar cabaret music think Kurt Weill with more lyrical language.

Writing Death's Gentle Aria in the Face of Despair 2011

Next door, another German publisher has copies of Ars Sacra: Christian Art in the Western World on display, Ullmann, editor Rolf Toman; photographer Achim Bedmorz, $199, 1,100 images, 800 pages, 24 lbs and 20.9 x 15.1 x 4.8 inches.

Amazing Illustrated Art Books And Their Brilliant Publishers (PHOTOS) 2011

But Ullmann's accomplishments have already been recognized.

Still, the Music Played On Barbara Jepson 2012

It includes a rarely heard melodrama by Ullmann, written during his internment.

Still, the Music Played On Barbara Jepson 2012

In October 1944, about seven months before the camp was liberated, Haas, Klein, Krása and Ullmann were transported to Auschwitz and subsequently murdered.

Still, the Music Played On Barbara Jepson 2012

Of special interest are pieces by Pavel Haas, Gideon Klein, Hans Krása and Viktor Ullmann—a lost generation of talented, primarily Czech composers.

Still, the Music Played On Barbara Jepson 2012

In 2004, the Cincinnati Opera paired it with Peter Bengtson's "The Maids" 1994, a modern musical take on a vicious story about sex and murder that made the Ullmann piece seem almost tame.

Writing Death's Gentle Aria in the Face of Despair 2011