The oldest Holocaust survivor and the oldest active pianist in the world, Alice Sommer-Herz, has died today in London. The turned 110 in November 2013. Alice Herz and her twin sister Mariana were born in Prague in the 26th of November 1903. Alice studied the piano and at 18 she was already performing in recitals and as soloist in concerts with the Czech Philharmonic. The critics wrote excitedly about the young pianist. Alice married Leopold Sommer, a business man who was also a talented violinist. The family suffered a lot after Germany invaded Czechoslovakia. Alice and her husband were deported to Terezin in July 1943, where Alice performed many concerts. Alice and her son Stephan survived the life in camp, but Leopold not.
After some years in her native country, Alice moved with her son to Israel, where she became a famous piano teacher. In 1986, she decided to stay in London next to her son and two grandsons. Her life has been documented in the book ‘Alice’s Piano: The Life of Alice Herz-Sommer by Melissa Müller and Reinhard Piechocki. Christopher Nupen produced about her the moving film ‘Everything is a present’.
