Alma Rosé – from concert hall to Auschwitz 2 April to 31 October 2004 www.jmw.at Alma Rosé grew up in prestigious musical surroundings. Her father, Arnold Rosé, was concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic for over half a century and founder of a world-famous string quartet. Her mother, Justine, was Gustav Mahler’s sister and the Rosé home was the meeting place of Vienna’s musical elite. As a child, Alma received violin lessons from her father, a strict and demanding teacher. She made her concert debut as a 20-year-old with him in 1926, playing Bach’s Double Concerto in D minor. She soon emerged from her father’s shadow and went her own way, forming a women’s orchestra, the “Wiener Walzermädeln”, whose lively repertoire made it popular and well-known throughout Europe. With her white sports car, she cut a striking figure and was a bright light in Vienna’s social circuit. next>>>