Events by location: Deutsches Haus at NYU

David Friedman’s talent for portraiture played a central role throughout his career and saved his life during the Holocaust. Three curators will discuss a new exhibition of his musician portraits at Deutsches Haus at NYU.

Artist David Friedmann was famous for his portraits of cultural icons in Berlin’s tumultuous 1920s and kept close ties with those most celebrated musicians of his era. Deutsches Haus at NYU and LBI are proud to present an exhibition of recovered pre-war portraits by Jewish artist David Friedmann, capturing members of Berlin’s world famous Philharmonic Orchestra.

Financed by the Third Reich, the Berlin Phil­har­monic was not only Germany’s flagship orchestra; as a major tool of Pro­pa­ganda Minister Goeb­bels, it also became an ambas­sador for the Nazi regime, par­ti­cu­larly on for­eign tours. In this docu­men­tary the spot­light is on the orchestra itself – the musi­cians, the people, and their indi­vi­dual desti­nies.