Banned by the Nazis: Degenerate Music at the Manchester Jewish Museum

Near the end of this month, coinciding with Holocaust Memorial Day, Manchester Jewish Museum is hosting Degenerate Music: Music Banned by the Nazis. In 1938, Hitler’s government held an exhibition to warn the public of ‘inferior and dangerous’ types of music. Jewish classical composers were singled out, as were new genres such as jazz, avant garde and cabaret. The organiser of this event, opera singer Peter Brathwaite, used this exhibition as the basis for a critical deconstruction of “musical degeneracy”. Along with pianist Nigel Foster, he will celebrate those kinds of music that the Nazis despised. Together, they will be performing interpretations of songs by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill, and pieces by Schoenberg. The aim is to create the feel of the political cabaret nights of Berlin in the 20s and early 30s. In fact, the museum will be transformed into a Weimar-style bar where you can sip era-inspired cocktails before the show.

Wed 27 Jan, Manchester Jewish Museum, 190 Cheetham Hill Road, Manchester, M8 8LW. Tel: 0161 834 879, 7pm – 10pm, £10, www.manchesterjewishmuseum.com