Artur
Gold, Composer.
Famous warsaw musician Born in 1897 in Warsaw. Son of
Michal and Helena Melodist.
Studied in London. In 1922 he established a jazz band with his cousin Jerzy Petersbuski, which became very
popular. Recorded for "Columbia Records" in Hayes near London. From 1929
performed in famous "Adria" in Warsaw. In 30’s composed popular songs, like "Autumn
roses". Lived and worked with his brothers Adam
and Henryk, also musicians, at 122
Chmielna St. in Warsaw. In 1940 he was forced to move to the Warsaw ghetto,
where he performed in "Nowoczesna".
(Tomasz Lerski "Syrena Record - Poland’s
first recording company, 1904-1939" pp. 637 - 638)
In 1926, Petersburski , together with his cousin Arthur Gold, co-founded the
Petersburski & Gold Orchestra.
Petersburski played the piano and Gold was the violonist.
At the turn of 1920s/1930s, it was perhaps the most popular dance orchestra in
Warsaw, which performed in the most fashionable restaurant "Adria". (A well
known refrain of one of the songs of that time had "When Petersburski plays with
Gold, you will not sleep through the night till dawn").
In 1942 he was deported to Treblinka,
where he was forced to play for the staff in the camp's club "Casino".
He became the conductor of the small camp orchestra.
Gold assumed his work energetically. The Germans helped him. Quite
a large amount of musical instruments was left in the yard by the Jews when
they went to the "showers"...
Kurt Franz ordered full dresses made of
glossy fabric and bow-ties of colossal size for the orchestra. White suits
with blue collars and lapels were sewn in the tailor shop. Gold appeared in a white frock coat with
the same decoration, patent leather shoes, pressed pants, and a white shirt. Gold’s groveling in front of the SS men
and the special food rations he received - even though he sometimes shared
them with the members of the orchestra - did not endear him to the prisoners.
Music accompanied the prisoners returning from work and tortured during
appels. The trio played joyful pre-war hits and Franz
was proud and happy of his idea. "Once he even brought some pre-war gramophone
records with Gold’s music" recalls Willenberg, who made a sculpture of
Gold's trio.
Glazar recalls him:
«We all knew that he (Kurt Franz) was
interested in music, and someone alerted him to the fact that Arthur Gold, a famous Warsaw musician, had
arrived on one of the last transports. Lalka,
"the Doll", brought out Gold and gave him
the assignment of forming a small orchestra in Treblinka. There were certainly
enough musicians here: both of the red-haired
Schermanns, the only siblings here, Salwe,
the tenor, little Edek with his accordion,
and many others.» (Glazar, p.117)
Gold was murdered in Treblinka in 1943.