Emerging from the Shadows: Rediscovering the Legacies of Weinberg and Korngold

 As antisemitism rises globally, and Jewish artists once again find themselves singled out—disinvited, boycotted, or pressured to renounce identity in order to participate in cultural life—the documentary film Emerging from the Shadows draws an unflinching parallel between past and present: how quickly “politics” becomes a justification for erasure, and how easily cultural spaces repeat old patterns under new names and signage. 

Two composers. Two geographic regions. Two radically different musical languages. One shared fate: exclusion. Emerging from the Shadows is a powerful narrative about resilience expressed through music, memory, and the urgency of listening while the voices are still here.

Emerging from the Shadows is a documentary that traces the lives of two Jewish composers, Mieczysław Weinberg and Erich Wolfgang Korngold, whose music was shaped—and nearly erased—by the antisemitic violence of the twentieth century. Though radically different in style and circumstances— both were forced into exile, their works banned and their identities rendered liabilities.

Kristina Cooper recording with the Kaunas Symphony Orchestra and Constantin Orbelian. Photo Credit: Lina Matuleviciene

Watch the trailer here:

At the heart of the film is the acclaimed cellist Kristina Cooper, whose performances under the baton of Emmy Award–winning music director Constantin Orbelian serve as the film’s emotional and narrative anchor. 

“The idea for the film started out as a behind-the-scenes look during our recording sessions. But given everything that's going on today with Zionism and anything even remotely connected to Israel increasingly being framed as partisan politics — with virulent protesters increasingly trying to enforce the cancellation of musicians who live or work in Israel — we felt the whole project took on a much bigger significance as a challenge to Jewish identity and legitimacy. It's a scary reminder of the dark past, which calls for a defiant look at that history and what it represents for us today,” says Cooper.

Filmed in Kaunas, Lithuania, the site of near-total Jewish annihilation during the Holocaust, Cooper’s lyrical playing brings the music written for orchestra and cello back into a landscape where Jewish voices were once systematically suppressed and eradicated. Her music-making, highlighting each composer’s individual artistic expression, does not illustrate history—it confronts it. Interwoven interviews with historians, writers, musicians, and contemporary creators reveal that the past is not as distant as we might believe. The composers’ once-silenced works are performed again, standing up to those who tried to erase them—and reminding us of what is lost when hatred dictates who is allowed to create.

Weinberg fled Nazi-occupied Poland on foot as a teenager, losing his entire family in the Holocaust. Although a close personal and musical influence on the revered Shostakovich, his own work was branded as too “formalist” to be included in the Soviet Union's ideologically accepted canon. Under Stalin’s reign of terror, Weinberg endured imprisonment and persecution. Korngold, celebrated by Mahler before he was twenty, in prewar Vienna, escaped to America just in time to save his life. While he helped shape a musical area steeped in the romanticism of Hollywood’s cinematic sound world, he never got over his forced exile from his beloved old-world Europe, which had so easily erased his presence and banned his music as “degenerate”. In the film, both composers’ stories unfold in parallel, revealing how cultural erasure operates across borders, regimes, and decades.

Emerging from the Shadows was produced by Bernhard Fleischer, longtime creator of filmed portrayals of performing artists, and directed by his frequent collaborator Veronica Emily Pohl. Weaving together archival material, performances, and contemporary reflections, the film draws an unsettling connection between the past and the present: a time when artists were excluded, identity became a liability, and culture was weaponized.

As Jewish artists again face exclusion from cultural spaces, the film asks what it means to have a conscience, to remember, and what happens to culture and society when artists are cancelled. Shedding light on the personal and artistic struggles of Weinberg and Korngold, the film encourages viewers to consider the enduring impact of cultural exclusion and heightens awareness of the vital importance of safeguarding creative expression against the forces of intolerance and erasure.

Invitation to a Film Screening of Emerging from the Shadows :

February 23^rd, 7.30 PM, at the Directors Guild of America’s New York Theater (110 West 57^th Street, between 6^th and  7^thAvenues )

The film features music from Weinberg’s and Korngold’s cello and orchestra works, which will also appear on the upcoming audio CD 'Hidden Legacies', set for release by Delos this March, recorded with Maestro Constantine Orbelian conducting the Kaunas Symphony Orchestra and cellist Kristina Cooper. Audiences are invited to witness the intertwining of the composers' captivating stories alongside the behind-the-scenes process of creating this recording and project.

Admission is free. Please RSVP on Eventbrite by January 31^st through this link. Should you have any questions or need assistance, please feel free to contact Josephine Hemsing at Hemsing Associates at 212-772-1132 or jhemsing@hemsingpr.com.