Join us in marking Thomas Mann’s 150th birthday and the reopening of the Thomas Mann House after the devastating fires in the Palisades. Together with Monday Evening Concerts, the Los Angeles Poverty Department, and the Thomas Mann House, this event offers an evening dedicated to literature and music.
The event will be held in English and is invitation-only.
This program continues the Thomas Mann House’s activities with a special homage to Mann’s renowned music novel, Doctor Faustus. 2025 Thomas Mann Fellow Steven Walter will guide the evening, featuring selected passages from the novel read by actors Jaiye Kamson, Henriëtte Brouwers, and Tom Grode (Los Angeles Poverty Department). The readings will be accompanied by musical performances on Mann’s historic piano.
The musical program includes:
Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 32, Op. 111 (Arietta) and Caroline Shaw’s Gustave le Gray, performed by David Kaplan (UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music)
Electronic works by Karlheinz Stockhausen and Elsa Marie Pade
Live performances of Helmut Lachenmann’s Guero and Julius Eastman’s Buddha, played by Jonathan Hepfer (Monday Evening Concerts)
The combination of literature and music provides new perspectives on Mann’s work and marks both his milestone birthday and the reopening of the house.
Program Highlights
Julius Eastman – Buddha (Jonathan Hepfer, percussion)
Thomas Mann – Doctor Faustus: Readings (Henriëtte Brouwers, Tom Grode, Jaiye Kamson)
Beethoven – Piano Sonata No. 32, Op. 111 (David Kaplan, piano)
Caroline Shaw – Gustave le Gray (David Kaplan, piano)
Karlheinz Stockhausen – Gesang der Jünglinge (electronic playback)
Helmut Lachenmann – Guero (Jonathan Hepfer, piano)
Elsa Marie Pade – Faust (electronic excerpts during readings)
Participants
Henriëtte Brouwers (Los Angeles Poverty Department)
Tom Grode (Los Angeles Poverty Department)
Jaiye Kamson (Los Angeles Poverty Department)
David Kaplan (UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music)
Jonathan Hepfer (Monday Evening Concerts)
Steven Walter (2025 Thomas Mann Fellow)
This evening offers an informative exploration of the interplay between literature and music, highlighting the cultural legacy of Thomas Mann in a new light.
