Ralf Gawlick

Professor of Music Ralf Yusuf Gawlick

Professor of Music Ralf Yusuf Gawlick’s new oratorio β€œO Lungo (D)rom (The Long Road)” had its world premiere in the renowned Konzerthaus Berlin on October 23, featuring distinguished soloists Johanna Zimmer (soprano), Georg GΓ€dker (baritone), LΓ‘szlΓ³ Racz (cimbalom), and the Alban Berg Ensemble Wien. The work sets the words of 13 different Romani poets and writers in 10 languages and Romani dialectsβ€”contemporary texts that deal with the centuries-old history of this continuously persecuted ethnic minority in Europe and address both the painful and hopeful moments.

β€œO Lungo (D)rom (The Long Road)” was the musical centerpiece of an international conference, β€œCommemoration of the Holocaust against the Sinti and Roma: Current Developments and Challenges,” sponsored by the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma; it was organized for the 10th anniversary celebration of the inauguration of the Memorial to the Sinti and Roma Victims of National Socialism. Keynote speakers included Frank-Walter Steinmeier, president of the Federal Republic of Germany, and the oratorio’s dedicatee Romani Rose, chairman of the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma.


University Communications | November 2022