
Alice Herz-Sommer
pianist | Holocaust survivor
When Alice Herz-Sommer passed away in 2014 at the age of 110, she was the oldest pianist and known Holocaust survivor in the world. She was also likely the world's oldest optimist.
In spite of facing incredible hardship, violence and loss, Alice persisted in embracing the good. Always an inspiration to her friends, family + students, Alice's stirring story was brought to wider audiences with the publication of 2 books and acclaimed documentaries about her life.
Her hopeful personal history speaks to the power of art, a lesson she shared through her life, love and music.
loving + living for music | as a solo pianist who continued to practice 3 hours a day till her death
surviving the Holocaust with her son | Theresienstadt concentration camp, where she played more than 100 concerts for prisoners and guards
longevity | as the oldest living pianist and Holocaust survivor
optimism | her secret to a long, happy life in spite of personal + historical tragedy
1943 | sent with her husband and 6-year old son Rafael to Theresienstadt, a concentration camp considered a feeder to Auschwitz
1949 | 4 years after being freed, emigrated to the newly founded state of Israel where she would serve as a piano teacher for almost 4 decades
2014 | "The Lady in Number 6," a short documentary based on her life, wins an Academy Award
from | to
aspiring pianist | inspiring Holocaust survivor saved by music
born on
February 26, 1903
born in
Prague, Czechoslovakia
{Austria - Hungary}
birth name
Alice Herz
lived in
Czechoslovakia
Israel
The United Kingdom
daughter of
Sophie + Friedrich Herz
~ her mother was a vibrant intellectual who was friends with Gustav Mahler + Franz Kafka ~
sister of
1 older + 1 twin sister | Irma + Mariana
2 brothers | Paul + Georg
educated at | studied with
Prague German Conservatory of Music | Václav Štepán
~ the youngest student admitted ~
loved studying
classical music
married to
Leopold Sommer
~ a violinist and businessperson ~
~ married {2 weeks after they met} in 1931 ~
~ died at Dachau in 1944 ~
mother of
1 son | Raphael
~ a professional cellist, 1937 - 2001 ~
grandmother of
2 grandsons
influenced by
Beethoven
Schubert
died on
February 23, 2014
~ in London, England at 110 years old ~
image credits
Refuge in Music | BADSK / Nightfrog
collapse bio bits"I always have music in my heart and no one can take that away from me."
Heart and Soul | december 2011
"Don't stand there and cry. Understand."
A Century of Wisdom: Lessons from the Life of Alice Herz-Sommer, the World's Oldest Living Holocaust Survivor | march 2012
"It depends on me whether life is good or not. Not on life, on me."
The Lady in Number 6 | january 2013
"When the first tone of music starts, it goes straight away in our soul."
The Lady in Number 6 | january 2013
"In my opinion the master-class is the best lesson because you learn from the mistakes of the others – the best lesson not only in music but all of life, politics."
A Century of Music-Making: Alice Herz-Sommer in Conversation | january 2014
"[M]usic-lovers and musicians are richer than other people."
A Century of Music-Making: Alice Herz-Sommer in Conversation | january 2014
"I love English people. I admire first of all their sense of humor. In my opinion, the sense of humor is not laughing, it is distance from things."
A Century of Music-Making: Alice Herz-Sommer in Conversation | january 2014
for further reading about Alice Herz-Sommer:
curated with care by Alicia Williamson {Sept 2014}
Alice Herz-Sommer as a young woman
Alice sits smiling at her piano, the instrument that would keep her going through her more than 100 years.
unknown | Doemer
Alice with her son Stephan (later Raphael)
Alice recalls the time when her son was born as being the happiest of her life; when he was only 6, they were sent to a concentration camp.
unknown | Doemer
still from Alice Somer Herz - 108 Year Old Holocaust Survivor - Interviewed by Bernard Hiller
Bernard Hiller