Featured Memorial Work
European Holocaust Memorial Day for Roma and Sinti
On August 2, 1944, the last 4,300 Sinti and Roma were murdered in Auschwitz-Birkenau. In 2015, the European Parliament declared this date the European Holocaust Memorial Day for Sinti and Roma.
My wife Basia and I traveled to Krakow to participate in the 3-day commemorative events and ceremonies which included the Polish première of O Lungo Drom (The Long Road), my oratorio on the Sinti and Roma people, in the Krakow Philharmonic on August 1, 2024. This year’s 80th anniversary welcomed representatives of parliaments and governments from many countries around the world, including, for the first time, the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Mr. Theodoros Rousopoulos, the President of the German Parliament, Ms. Bärbel Bas, and the Marshal of the Polish Senate, Ms. Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska.
“Eighty years ago today, the Nazis murdered more than 4,200 Roma in the gas chambers of Auschwitz-Birkenau. Today, we commemorate and honor them all.”
Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State ·
8 February 2024
Official webpage for European Holocaust Memorial Day for Roma and Sinti 2024
The official webpage for European Holocaust Memorial Day for Roma and Sinti 2024 features the livestreams of the commemorations in Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau, …
Krakow Philharmonic Hall August 1st 2024
The performance of O Lungo Drom (The Long Road) by the Alban Berg Ensemble Wien, who are joined by Clara Meloni (soprano), Christoph Filler (baritone) and László Rácz (cimbalom) in a Concert in memory of the 500,000 Sinti and Roma murdered during the Holocaust.
US Première at Boston College & College of the Holy Cross
The Alban Berg Ensemble Wien, who are joined by Clara Meloni (soprano), Christoph Filler (baritone) and László Rácz (cimbalom) gave the US première of the work at College of the Holy Cross and Boston College (April 2024) …
2024 Concert Oratorio – Booklet for O Lungo Drom
This booklet, presented in three languages (English, German, Polish) as well as a fourth (Romanes) for the translation of the libretto, is entirely devoted to O Lungo Drom (The Long Road). Organizers and Partners, Donors and Supporters, as well as …
2024 International Conference Booklet
This conference, held in Krakow’s Jagiellonian University and entitled “My testimony is for young people”, focused on ‘Passing on Memory for the Future of Holocaust Remembrance and Education’.
2024 Memorial Day Booklet
This booklet is in four languages (English, Polish, German, Romanes):
O Lungo Drom is specifically mentioned on pp.14-15 (en), pp.42-43 (pl), pp. 70-71 (de), and pp. 98-99 (r) Patrons,…
Commemorative Act of Parliamentary Representatives & Political Leaders Auschwitz I (Stammlager)
Florian Berner, cellist of the Alban Berg Ensemble Wien, bookends this Commemorative Act by playing the Sarabande from…
The Second Commemoration At The Roma And Sinti Memorial in Auschwitz II-Birkenau
The second commemoration took place at the Roma and Sinti Memorial in Auschwitz II-Birkenau, camp section B II e (formerly known as the Zigeunerlager [Gypsy camp])…
António Guterres
António Guterres, UN Secretary- General: provides a statement to commemorate the last 4,300 Sinti and Roma in the German Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau, who were murdered by the SS on that night in 1944 despite their fierce resistance.
Ellen Germain Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues
Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, U.S. Department of State Video statement on the occasion of 2 August 2024, Holocaust Memorial Day for Sinti and Roma
“On August 2, 1944, more than 4000 Roma and Sinti were killed in Auschwitz-Birkenau. On this 80th anniversary of that tragedy, we mourn them, and all the Roma and Sinti killed in Nazi death camps and concentration camps. As we remember the genocide of the Roma, and the lives taken by the Nazis and their allies and collaborators, we mourn everything that was lost with them – the history, the memories, the cultural knowledge, the family stories. We remember all the lives that were so brutally cut short . . . I think especially of the children who never had a chance to grow to adulthood. We also have to recognize that the genocide of the Roma during World War II has often been neglected by history. We honor those academics and activists who have brought attention to these terrible events while acknowledging they have not been studied, researched, or commemorated in all their depth and complexity.
We must also acknowledge this genocide was the culmination of countless steps to segregate and dehumanize Roma and Sinti. Regrettably, Roma and Sinti continue to face prejudice and discrimination today. As we remember and honor those killed 80 years ago, let’s also find in their memory the strength to stand against all forms of hatred and bigotry. Let’s pledge to build societies that protect and value all citizens. And let’s all work together to end racism and the marginalization of Roma and Sinti.”
O Lungo Drom (The Long Road)
View O Lungo Drom (The Long Road) CD Booklet/Libretto
Opening Statement
I was born in Germany of Romani-Kurdish descent, and have lived, worked, and studied on both sides of the Atlantic. In the last decades, through my wife, Poland became my adopted country. The multiplicity of these cultural and professional experiences has profoundly helped shape my compositional voice. The structural fabrics, psychological developments, and dramatic intentions of my music seek to engage the listener’s emotions and intellect to lead him/her through the essential aesthetic experience.
In my music I wish to address issues of the human condition. This may take the form of sociopolitical criticism, setting musically images of human frailty and strength, of human hypocrisy and glory, of giving thanks, of redemption and hope, and reflecting on matters of spiritual and existential import.
My life experiences and deep involvement with the other arts both inspire and directly resonate in my work. From Kochanowski through Cervantes, Brecht and Eliot, from Stwosz through Raphael, Kollwitz and Matisse, my compositional signatures spring from an encompassing and engrossing artistic vision.
Ralf Yusuf Gawlick
Selected Works
- O Lungo Drom (The Long Road) op.22 (2020-2021) http://youtube.com/watch?v=NfzQPqjXBNM&list=OLAK5uy_lt65jc9fwvNRHe5bSMEcdB49wZARDrd80m
- Herzliche Grüße Bruno ~ Briefe aus Stalingrad (Eine musikalische Gedenkstätte) op.21 (2017-2018) https://youtu.be/XEFu40rLizI
- Imagined Memories (Bîranînên Xeyalî) op.20 (2014-2016) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ten7-ExbQw
- Kollwitz-Konnex (…im Frieden seiner Hände) op.19 (2012-2013) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEqw0FOIS4Q
- Missa gentis humanæ op.16 (2008-2010) https://youtu.be/fTzl2SctV-o
- Kinderkreuzzug (Cantata) op.13 (2004-2005) https://youtu.be/dNBEVIAaBSI
Biography
Ralf Yusuf Gawlick
Ralf Yusuf Gawlick is a German-American composer of Romani-Kurdish descent. His works include solo, chamber, orchestral, electro-acoustic, film, and choral music, traversing a broad spectrum of styles and often exploring aspects of his complex international heritage. His music has been commissioned and championed by leading artists and organizations, attracting international acclaim from audiences and critics alike.
In recent years, works such as his electro-acoustic Herzliche Grüße Bruno ~ Briefe aus Stalingrad, the eight-voice Missa Gentis Humanæ, the song cycle Kollwitz-Konnex (…im Frieden seiner Hände), the cantata Kinderkreuzzug, and the autobiographical string quartet Imagined Memories (Bîranînên Xeyalî) have exemplified his remarkably diverse output, with its frequent references to the Western musical canon and rigorous compositional standards.
Gawlick’s most recent composition, the oratorio O Lungo Drom (The Long Road), was commissioned by the Alban Berg Ensemble Wien and is dedicated to Romani Rose, Chairman of the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma. His music, published exclusively by Universal Edition, is performed internationally in venues such as Konzerthaus Berlin, Vienna’s Musikverein, and New York’s Carnegie Hall, and is recorded on the Decca Eloquence, Musica Omnia, and Perfect Noise labels in composer-supervised performances by the works’ dedicatees.
He is currently working on Die Ursitory, an opera based on Matéo Maximoff’s novel of the same name. This opera represents many firsts: Maximoff’s book was the first novel written by a Rom on a Romani theme, and it is now set to music by a composer of Romani descent. In this way, Maximoff’s seminal story receives a unique realization from within, rather than being filtered through the lens and stereotypes of non-Roma, as has been the case in previous operas with Roma (“G*psy”) themes.
A professor at Boston College, Ralf Gawlick lives in Newton, MA, with his wife and fellow musician, Basia.