Ernst Schoen – the life of an anti-fascist radio pioneer

Still Life with Head, Willi Baumeister, 1930

Bishopsgate Institute, London

Taking the form of a live radio presentation, this evening will highlight the fascinating life of Ernst Schoen (1884–1960), radio practitioner, writer, composer and lifelong anti-fascist, as presented by Dr Esther Leslie and Dr Sam Dolbear.

Ernst Schoen, the director of Radio Frankfurt, was arrested in 1934 for crimes against the Third Reich, which included the protection and encouragement of Jewish and Socialist colleagues. During his time as a radio producer and radio station manager in Weimar Germany, Schoen had developed, in collaboration with his school friend Walter Benjamin and others such as Bertolt Brecht, Hanns Eisler and Anton von Webern, a radical sound and radio practice aimed at the dissemination of communist principles through avant-garde techniques.

Escaping to London, Schoen continued his work as a radical socialist activist and writer from exile. Having studied music with Ferruccio Busoni and Edgard Varèse, Schoen was also a composer and some of his beautiful 12-tone compositions will be presented separately at a free lunchtime concert on 20 March 2020 in the Great Hall at Bishopsgate Institute.