Viktor Kuna and Joanna Sobkowska

October 24

Music at the Edge of Life

David Kertzer

The Vatican and the Rise of Modern Anti-Semitism

Professor Kuna was born in Prague in 1965. His lifelong research on composers who died in Nazi concentration camps and prisons durring World War II, has lead him to travel the world and share their music.

Ms. Sobkowska who was born in Warsaw, Poland; accompanies Kuna on piano.

Their program is a performance of music by composers who died in Nazi concentration camps and prisons durring World War II. They strive to re-create the moral power of the composers, communicating their last messages of faith, humanity, and love.

David Kertzer has been a Paul Dupee, Jr. University Professor of Social Science at Brown Universtiy since 1992. He has writen many works that fall at the intersection of anthropology and history. His novel The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara was the recipient of a Jewish National Book Award for 1997.

The story is about a little Jewish boy seized on the order of the Inquisitor. Kertzer was motivated to write the story not only because of scholarly interest but also because of his family background.