“Everything we experience is a gift, a present we should cherish and pass on to those we love”
The inspiring and moving story of the oldest living Holocaust survivor and concert pianist Alice Herz-Sommer.
Now 109 and living in a tiny flat in London, Alice still plays the piano for several hours every day, practicing her beloved Bach and Beethoven. Once a renowned and celebrated concert pianist who performed to enthusiastic audiences around central Europe, Alice was deported to the Theresienstadt concentration camp, where, like thousands of others, she endured unspeakable hardships. Yet it was music that enabled her to look beyond the horrors of day-to-day life in the camp. She played more than 100 concerts inside the camp, and still talks with great passion about the experience.
Allice’s extraordinary story has now been made into a full-length documentary by Oscar®-winning filmmaker Malcolm Clarke
Full details about Alice and the film about her life here
Discover more from The Cross-Eyed Pianist
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.




“Put as much as you can into your head as that’s something no-one can take away from you”. Wise words!
Truly remarkable and very thought-provoking.
A brilliant post, Fran, thanks.