Sun, Oct 19
|Museum of Tolerance
Witness to Truth: André Laks
Join the USC Polish Music Center, Museum of Tolerance and Holocaust Museum LA for an afternoon digital discussion with philosopher André Laks—son of composer, writer and survivor Szymon Laks—followed by a performance of Szymon Laks's String Quartet No. 3 by USC Thornton students.
Time & Location
Oct 19, 2025, 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM
Museum of Tolerance, 9786 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90035, USA
About
The USC Polish Music Center, Museum of Tolerance and Holocaust Museum LA will co-present an afternoon in the “Witness to Truth” series, highlighting the experience of the 2nd generation of Holocaust survivors, through the lens of the Laks family. Guest scholar Dr. Grzegorz Mania and Mark Katrikh, MOT Deputy Director, will lead a discussion via video with philosopher André Laks, followed by a performance of music by his father, Szymon Laks.
Paris-based Polish Jewish composer and writer Szymon Laks’s music uniquely balances elements of French modernism, Polish folk music and American jazz. The composer survived imprisonment at Auschwitz by conducting the camp orchestra, an experience which he later recalled in his hauntingly honest book entitled Music of Another World.
Shortly after regaining his freedom in May 1945, Szymon Laks used Polish folk idioms to create his Third String Quartet. This spirited work will be the centerpiece of this afternoon program, which will be performed live by students of the USC Thornton School of Music Strings department.
Register here