In September 1990, some musicologists, practicing musicians and music critics founded the charitable society musica reanimata in Berlin. Their aim was to search out lost or forgotten works by composers persecuted by the Nazi regime and integrate them into present-day musical culture. The initial impetus was provided by the encounter with the work of Viktor Ullmann, who composed a masterpiece such as “Der Kaiser von Atlantis” in the degrading conditions of the Theresienstadt forced ghetto. Alongside the composers interned in Theresienstadt and murdered in the death camps, the society has increasingly involved itself in the area of exile and remigration.

musica reanimata has set itself a three-fold objective: firstly, to further the biographical research, conservational safeguarding and musicological research of the scores through its own work and by commissioning qualified experts and institutions; secondly, to see to it that music publishers edit and publish the scores; and thirdly, to cultivate broader public appreciation of the compositions in the concert hall.

The Society’s premises and archive were located for many years in the Center for Research on Anti-Semitism at the TU Berlin, and are now housed in the Berlin University of the Arts.

It is in large part thanks to the Society’s initiative that the works of a range of composers have been published and integrated into the repertoires of renowned soloists, chamber ensembles and orchestras. musica reanimata was awarded the Critics Prize for Music 2006 by the Verband der Deutscher Kritiker for this work.

Lecture concerts / symposia

Since 1990, musica reanimata has established itself on the Berlin concert scene with over 100 lecture concerts. The series of five concerts per season, whose home is the Konzerthaus, Berlin and which are broadcast by Deutschlandfunk, generally introduces one composer each evening with selected works and accounts of their life and work. Hans-Joachim Koellreutter, Ursula  Mamlok, Alfred Goodman, George Dreyfus and Samuel Adler were still able to attend in person. In other cases, contemporary witnesses come to speak. Each concert is supplemented by stock lists of the Berlin’s Central and Regional Library (ZLB). A CD edition of the lecture concerts began on the occasion of the Society’s 20^th anniversary in 2010.

Furthermore, international scientific symposia take place on an occasional basis, whose findings appear in their own written publications.

Publication series

The association issues its own series of texts under the title Verdrängte Musik [Suppressed Music] published by Pfau-Verlag Saarbrücken (volumes 1 to 15 published by Bockel-Verlag Hamburg).
The volumes released so far include academic articles and documents on the life and work of the following composers:
Erwin Schulhoff (Band 4,7, 8, 11, 20)
Viktor Ullmann (Band 1-4, 12, 14, 16)
Pavel Haas (Band 1, 9)
Hans Krása (Band 1, 19)
Gideon Klein (Band 1,6)
Berthold Goldschmidt (Band 10)
Günter Raphael (Band 13)
Hanning Schröder (Band 15)
Australien-Exil (Band 17)
Max Brand, Alfred Goodman, Józef Koffler und Ursula Mamlok (Band 18)

Messages and websites

The regularly released mr-messages contain biographical, documentary and analytical articles about composers and their works who were persecuted by the Nazis as well as information about the association’s work and activities dealing with related themes.
The musica reanimata website documents the discussions and has a directory of composers already performed as well as an extensive collection of links dealing with the subject.