INTO ETERNITY - part of the ongoing series, Meetings with Remarkable Women, by composer Marion von Tilzer - is a tribute to Vilma Grunwald based on her farewell letter written moments before her death in Auschwitz. 

INTO ETERNITY is a story of absolute sadness yet it speaks to us of the human capacity for love, it speaks of courage, trust and confidence, as told by a woman facing her death in the Holocaust. In the letter to her husband, Vilma shines a light on the core of accepting circumstance without losing the belief in life's beauty, hope in its goodness and trusting wholeheartedly that love carries us through and beyond the end. 

The music to the words of Vilma's heart-wrenching letter has a circular structure, symbolizing the infinite cycle of life. The song is part of a Triptych, embedded in the middle: Out of the Dark, The Letter of Vilma Grunwald and Hajej Mui. From these three compositions, five more pieces evolved, based on light and darkness.

During the entire creation of the music, Vilma’s son, Frank Grunwald (1932-2023) had been in close contact with Marion and when hearing the album was completed, he said: “It is so exciting to hear about the completion of the musical composition by Marion inspired by my mother’s letter. One of my concerns has always been that my mother will be forgotten, but now - with her letter in the US Holocaust Memorial Museum and the musical performances composed on her behalf - those concerns are gone.” 

CONCEPT/COMPOSITIE: Marion von Tilzer

MUSICIANS: Bella Adamova, Maya Fridman, Belinfante Kwartet, Marion von Tilzer, Michael Hesselink, Jacobus Thiele.

FILM: Grycko Film by Michal Grycko

ARTISTS: Juul Kraijer (Cover Art, TRPTK) 

PRODUCER: MuziCan Foundation, www.muzican.nl

The music has been released on the Dutch label TRPTK. 

INTO ETERNITY was realised through the generous support of New Music Now, The Amsterdamse Fonds voor de Kunst, Gravin van Bylandt Stichting, Cultuurfonds & Voordekunst.