Alisa Herz-Sommer (Alisa Sommer-Herz) - Czechoslovak and Israeli pianist, memoirist, teacher. She is recognized as the oldest survivor of the Holocaust. According to the British long-liver, only music helped her survive.
Her stories were devoted to programs on the most famous TV channels, books were written about her, documentaries were shot. Numerous interviews with Alice Hertz-Sommer have been published in reputable publications. However, in more than a century of biography there are so many events that it is time to shoot not one film about the famous pianist, but a whole series or saga. It will prove to be no worse than the legendary "Schindler's List".
The beginning of the path to the vocation
Biography of Aliza Herz began in Prague in 1903. The girl was born on November 26 in a Jewish wealthy family. The future celebrity and both of her sisters received a good education. Philosophers and writers often gathered in the house. Subsequently, Alice's older sister Irma married publicist and philosopher Felix Welch.
Ms. Sommer-Hertz was fond of music from an early age. She sat down at the piano for the first time at the age of three. Irma taught her the game. The baby grabbed everything on the fly. Parents at the age of five invited Konrad Anhoge, a pupil of Franz Liszt, to their daughter. The girl really liked the lessons with him. The stubborn and purposeful nature dreamed of becoming a professional musician.
She walked confidently towards the realization of her goal. At sixteen, Herz in Prague became the youngest student at the German Conservatory. The teachers saw great potential in the student. At the end of the twenties, the name of the performer was known throughout Europe. In 1931, Alice became the wife of the amateur violinist Leopold Sommer. In 1937, a son, Stefan, was born in the family. He subsequently chose a musical career, moved to Israel and became a cellist, composer, and composer of popular opera. He changed his name to Raphael.
With the arrival of German troops in Czechoslovakia, many of Aliza's relatives and friends left the country. However, the pianist and her family chose to stay at home. Despite the prohibitions to give concerts and teach, Sommer continued to play during the day, and the students did not leave classes with her.
Difficult time
After the departure of their mother's life, in despair, Alice began to perform the most complex piano works, Chopin's etudes. The game saved her from the hard realities of life. In 1943, along with her son and husband, Sommer-Herz was sent to the "exemplary Jewish settlement", the Theresienstadt concentration camp.
There were a lot of people of art there. Sommer continued to play in a new location. She took part in concerts, and later claimed that it was only thanks to music that she was able to survive all the horrors of the Holocaust.
After liberation in 1945, the prisoners returned to their homeland. In Prague, Alice, who had barely returned home, was asked to perform a concert on the radio. It was broadcast to Israel, where the twin sister of the pianist Marianne lived. So she found out about her sister. Marianna invited Alize to move in with her. So she did. Soon, Alice and her son left for Israel.
In the promised land, she stood at the origins of the founding of the Jerusalem Academy of Music, where she then worked as a teacher. The pianist was a respected person in the country, a famous pianist. She also taught her son music.
A new round of fate
Herz-Sommer spent about three decades in Israel. His mother moved to London, where the raised Stefan-Raphael and his family settled, by the mid-eighties.
Almost immediately after the move, she was diagnosed with a serious illness. However, the surprisingly life-loving organism coped with the disease. Alice recovered and continued the introductions.
Almost a hundred-year-old pianist visited the pool every day, and in the morning she played her favorite pieces from memory. She has released two live discs. In late fall 2013, Sommer-Herz celebrated her next birthday. She lived alone in a small apartment in London. In November 2013 Mrs. Sommer turned 110 years old.
Until the last days she played from memory, without notes. In the first place, according to the long-liver, she put and still puts music, which has become her religion, and spiritual food. In ordinary food, the pianist is not at all picky. The broth cooked from fresh chicken is enough for her.
Life force
Alice is sure that in her optimism she draws the strength to live. The long-liver never lost heart, she always believed in the best. This saved her during the war and gave an incentive to live on.
During her long life, the creative person met a lot of evil, but she always managed to go through it, as if focusing on the good. You can know about the existence of bad, but always strive for good - this is her credo. And the secret of a long life is in its simplicity and in how to spend the released years.
In 2012, based on conversations with renowned pianist Caroline Stossinger, she wrote A Century of Wisdom: Lessons From the Life of Alice Herz-Sommer - the World's Oldest Living Holocast Survivor. It has been published in nearly thirty countries. The performer became the heroine of the movie "Alice's Piano" in 2006.
A documentary film "The Lady in Number 6" was made about her, which was awarded an "Oscar" in 2014. Alisa Herz-Sommer passed away on February 23, 2014. The performer called the secret of her longevity the ability to find positive in everything.
Such people charge with the fullness of being. At one glance at them, it becomes clear that as long as a person lives, nothing is lost and nothing is in vain.
