As the first international Wall to Wall marathon, Wall to Wall Behind the Wall explores the wealth of great music emanating from Eastern Europe from the end of World War I through the Cold War to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. During this complicated time, music commissioned by the state for propaganda was counterbalanced by music of protest, some of which was subtly subversive, some more overt in its socio-political commentary, as well as by more personal music of the spirit. Connections to the musical avant garde and affinities with the West also played a role, although much of this music was underground during the height of the Cold War.
Wall to Wall Behind the Wall explores music from the former republics of the USSR and other Eastern European countries including Hungary, Romania, Poland, and the Czech Republic, all important centers for musical expression. Works by composers as diverse as Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Khatchaturian, Lutoslawski, Schnittke, Ligeti, Penderecki, Mansurian, Shafaryan, Bardanashvili, Gorecki, Kancheli, Panufnik, Gubaidulina, Part, Usltvolskaya, Kurtag and others will be heard, as well as music by younger composers who came of age during the Soviet regime and are now creating music in a changed world.
Participating artists include some of New York’s finest musicians as well as visiting ensembles from Eastern Europe including the St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic in their U.S. debut, and Poland's Silesian String Quartet. Other highlights include, the U.S. premiere of Shostakovich war songs, Eastern European jazz, Yiddish songs in praise of Lenin and Stalin, music protesting the Soviet regime, and more.