0:00:02 > 0:00:06'Welcome to the famous duo pianists, Toni and Rosi Grunschlag.'
0:00:15 > 0:00:17THEY START TO PLAY
0:00:24 > 0:00:27Toni and Rosi Grunschlag are sisters.
0:00:30 > 0:00:33Their career has been at two pianos.
0:00:33 > 0:00:35They've supported each other,
0:00:35 > 0:00:38rehearsed, played and lived together for 80 years.
0:00:45 > 0:00:48I first videoed them in 2001.
0:00:51 > 0:00:53DOG BARKS
0:00:53 > 0:00:56Unknown to me, an American singer, Todd Murray,
0:00:56 > 0:01:00also fell in love with them and their story and began to film them.
0:01:00 > 0:01:04We've combined our material, professional and amateur,
0:01:04 > 0:01:06shot over ten years, to tell the story
0:01:06 > 0:01:09of these indomitable women and their lives together.
0:01:09 > 0:01:14Lives saved by music, lived through music.
0:01:14 > 0:01:19OK, now this is the office from Johnson.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22They need endless information.
0:01:22 > 0:01:24Well, tell them that.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27I'm trying. Give me the number.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30- 508.- That you don't need on your TV. Oh, no!
0:01:33 > 0:01:36When they were trapped in Nazi-occupied Vienna,
0:01:36 > 0:01:39it was music which opened the door to freedom.
0:01:41 > 0:01:44- I'll tell you, anxiety is not the word for it.- No.
0:01:45 > 0:01:50It was a puzzle to solve at the moment. Life or death?
0:01:53 > 0:01:56For these are lives which might not have been.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00It was not an easy time, you know?
0:02:00 > 0:02:05It wasn't heroic what we did. But we worked it out.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08You know, we had determination.
0:02:17 > 0:02:19In their concert career,
0:02:19 > 0:02:23they toured Europe and played all over the United States.
0:02:36 > 0:02:37Both parts are equally difficult.
0:02:37 > 0:02:42Exchange. That's the beauty of our two pianos. Everybody's...
0:02:44 > 0:02:45..equal. Equal.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49It's not like one has the melody and the other one has the "um-pah-pah".
0:02:49 > 0:02:52Ah, no, "Um-dah-dah, um-dah-dah."
0:02:52 > 0:02:54- No.- It's terrible.- It's all equal.
0:03:10 > 0:03:12See all these things?
0:03:12 > 0:03:15This is Maria Theresa's petal.
0:03:15 > 0:03:17Isn't that charming?
0:03:17 > 0:03:20Much too nice for her. She was a great anti-Semite.
0:03:20 > 0:03:22Do you know where we got this?
0:03:22 > 0:03:24- She was a great anti-Semite.- Ooh!
0:03:24 > 0:03:29Her son Joseph was a much better emperor. Nicer.
0:03:29 > 0:03:33You know, she... When she borrowed money from the Jews,
0:03:33 > 0:03:36she had the Jew come, but she didn't want to see him,
0:03:36 > 0:03:39so she had the curtain between.
0:03:39 > 0:03:41- So...- You can't imagine that.
0:03:41 > 0:03:46- It's not very nice. - You see? How beautiful?
0:03:46 > 0:03:50You know what happened to her daughter Marie Antoinette. Anyway...
0:03:50 > 0:03:52THEY LAUGH
0:03:52 > 0:03:55And she was really unhappy.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01Toni and Rosi were brought up in a tiny apartment
0:04:01 > 0:04:04in the most musical city on Earth - Vienna in the 1920s.
0:04:06 > 0:04:08I must tell you something, here.
0:04:08 > 0:04:13You see Die Fledermaus, Gottfried Fischer?
0:04:13 > 0:04:18My father and my mother went walking for a little spazieren.
0:04:19 > 0:04:25And he saw these things and he said... Toni and I weren't born yet.
0:04:25 > 0:04:33He said, "You see, some day our children will be advertised here."
0:04:33 > 0:04:35And so it was!
0:04:35 > 0:04:37You see?
0:04:39 > 0:04:43The musical ambition of this Jewish family came from their father,
0:04:43 > 0:04:46Morris, who'd left Poland for the United States
0:04:46 > 0:04:48where he earned enough to travel to Vienna
0:04:48 > 0:04:51to realise his dream of studying music.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54He learned the trumpet, but never made a living from it.
0:04:56 > 0:05:00He felt, "Who needs two cups of coffee in the morning
0:05:00 > 0:05:04"when you can have the price of a ticket to go to a concert?"
0:05:05 > 0:05:07Yes.
0:05:07 > 0:05:09How shall I tell you?
0:05:09 > 0:05:12When we were in Vienna,
0:05:12 > 0:05:15we were very, very poor,
0:05:15 > 0:05:18but we had lots of talent.
0:05:18 > 0:05:21And my father couldn't get a position at all
0:05:21 > 0:05:23because he wasn't a born Viennese.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30From the start, Morris Grunschlag's three children
0:05:30 > 0:05:32began to fulfil the hopes he held for them.
0:05:34 > 0:05:38The eldest, David, was a brilliant violinist.
0:05:38 > 0:05:40Toni was already a piano prodigy.
0:05:42 > 0:05:43Then there was Rosi.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46I couldn't walk or talk at two and a half.
0:05:46 > 0:05:48My mother was very concerned.
0:05:48 > 0:05:52I always said, "Play, play, play. Spielen, spielen."
0:05:52 > 0:05:55So, they put me at a piano
0:05:55 > 0:05:58and I started playing some of the things that I heard.
0:05:59 > 0:06:05Somebody even wanted to buy me from my father,
0:06:05 > 0:06:08but I was very proud to hear what my father said,
0:06:08 > 0:06:12"You don't have enough money to buy my daughter."
0:06:16 > 0:06:21At the heart of musical life in Vienna was the State Music Academy.
0:06:21 > 0:06:25David was taught there by the great violin virtuoso,
0:06:25 > 0:06:29Bronislaw Huberman, who'd chosen him for a scholarship.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32Toni also had a scholarship and was taught by a pupil of Franz Liszt.
0:06:34 > 0:06:36Then it was the turn of Rosi,
0:06:36 > 0:06:40officially too young for the Academy, to audition.
0:06:40 > 0:06:42So, after my audition...
0:06:44 > 0:06:46..Kobalt, who was the President of the Academy...
0:06:46 > 0:06:48He was the President.
0:06:48 > 0:06:52..came out to see my father
0:06:52 > 0:06:53and he said to him,
0:06:53 > 0:06:56"Herr Grunschlag,
0:06:56 > 0:07:00"bringen sie uns ihre anderen kindern.
0:07:00 > 0:07:04- "Bring your other children." - Because they were all amazing.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07So, my father said,
0:07:07 > 0:07:11"I'm so sorry, Mr President,
0:07:11 > 0:07:13"but you have them all!"
0:07:14 > 0:07:16You know?
0:07:17 > 0:07:20Their childhood routine was strict.
0:07:20 > 0:07:24Divided between home and school and the academy.
0:07:25 > 0:07:31I remember distinctly, one girl invited me to her birthday party
0:07:31 > 0:07:36and I was given permission to go, you know?
0:07:36 > 0:07:39I mean, you know, you have school until one,
0:07:39 > 0:07:41then you eat your big dinner.
0:07:41 > 0:07:45By that time it's three o'clock. So I went at four o'clock,
0:07:45 > 0:07:48so there is not so much time for practising left
0:07:48 > 0:07:50if you take the time to gallivant.
0:07:50 > 0:07:57So...I remember her name, Lilli Kudelka.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00She invited me for her birthday party.
0:08:00 > 0:08:05So, I went and just as I was beginning to eat the cake,
0:08:05 > 0:08:09my father came and said, "It's time to go home."
0:08:09 > 0:08:12But, well, I finished the cake, you know.
0:08:12 > 0:08:14But that's how it was.
0:08:16 > 0:08:20'Austria's problem has been to preserve her independence.
0:08:20 > 0:08:22'She has been divided between...'
0:08:22 > 0:08:24These were tumultuous years in Austria,
0:08:24 > 0:08:26with political turmoil and civil war.
0:08:26 > 0:08:30But the Grunschlag children were cocooned in a world of music.
0:08:30 > 0:08:32Here was the upper school
0:08:32 > 0:08:35and over there the lower school.
0:08:36 > 0:08:38They are not open.
0:08:38 > 0:08:40The sisters' musical talent
0:08:40 > 0:08:43was beginning to be noticed by the Viennese newspapers.
0:08:43 > 0:08:48Oh. There is something about Toni
0:08:48 > 0:08:52in a student recital of the academy.
0:08:52 > 0:08:55"Brilliant and fiery.
0:08:55 > 0:09:00"Toni Grunschlag in the Rhapsodie Espagnole by Liszt
0:09:00 > 0:09:06- "also had the strongest success of the evening."- Ja, ja.
0:09:06 > 0:09:08"The applause."
0:09:08 > 0:09:11And you know what one of the fellows said afterwards?
0:09:11 > 0:09:13It's a very powerful piece, you know,
0:09:13 > 0:09:16it has also sections of delicacy in it,
0:09:16 > 0:09:20but he said, "Ah, I heard your performance yesterday,"
0:09:20 > 0:09:21on the street, he meant.
0:09:21 > 0:09:25"I sure wouldn't like to get hit from you!"
0:09:25 > 0:09:27War das reutenberger?
0:09:27 > 0:09:31- Nein, das war ein anderer. Von deiner kollegen.- Uh-huh.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34No, for the Academy, yes.
0:09:34 > 0:09:38Ah, that's me, finally, yes.
0:09:38 > 0:09:40You know, Grosse Musikverein,
0:09:40 > 0:09:44oh, such a beautiful hall.
0:09:44 > 0:09:48When you go, you'll see a concert there. My brother was backstage.
0:09:48 > 0:09:53He didn't have the nerves to sit out front, he was so worried.
0:09:53 > 0:09:57Now, Bach Toccata In Fugue, I played.
0:09:57 > 0:10:02I had my light blue taffeta dress...
0:10:02 > 0:10:03Pa-pa-pa...
0:10:03 > 0:10:08..and my patent leather shoes and white socks
0:10:08 > 0:10:11and I had eleven bows.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14He counted them. He counted them!
0:10:20 > 0:10:23Musical careers in Vienna appeared to beckon,
0:10:23 > 0:10:26but the world outside music could be kept at bay no longer
0:10:26 > 0:10:30and the Grunschlag family was about to be split up.
0:10:31 > 0:10:33Bronislaw Huberman, a Polish Jew,
0:10:33 > 0:10:37refused to play anywhere under Nazi rule.
0:10:37 > 0:10:40He founded the Palestine, later Israel, Philharmonic Orchestra
0:10:40 > 0:10:43and invited David Grunschlag to join it.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46Morris Grunschlag travelled to support his son.
0:10:46 > 0:10:49His wife and daughters, now 15 and 21
0:10:49 > 0:10:52and for so long sheltered from the world,
0:10:52 > 0:10:55had to remain in Vienna on their own.
0:10:55 > 0:11:00You had this feeling something bad was going to happen.
0:11:00 > 0:11:03Lots of people in the street.
0:11:03 > 0:11:08Groups of men were marching with their Hakenkreuz.
0:11:08 > 0:11:10At the academy we were told,
0:11:10 > 0:11:14"Cancelled. Everything cancelled."
0:11:17 > 0:11:20A day or so later, on March 12th 1938,
0:11:20 > 0:11:24the lives of all Jews in Austria would be changed forever.
0:11:24 > 0:11:29The Germans marched across the border, greeted as heroes.
0:11:31 > 0:11:33'Sieg heil! Sieg heil!
0:11:33 > 0:11:36'Sieg heil! Sieg heil! Sieg heil!'
0:11:38 > 0:11:43Two days later, Hitler entered Vienna in triumph.
0:11:44 > 0:11:48At first, we locked ourselves in our apartment
0:11:48 > 0:11:53and we saw the great, great enthusiasm
0:11:53 > 0:11:57of the people, the bystanders.
0:11:57 > 0:12:01A glorious entry into the city.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06The neighbours, who were always so proud of us,
0:12:06 > 0:12:13stopped talking to us, avoided us like we were poison.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20The Nazis soon put their mark on the girls' beloved city.
0:12:20 > 0:12:21And worse.
0:12:21 > 0:12:27Then you heard the rumours. There was an enormous amount of rumours.
0:12:27 > 0:12:30I mean that people disappears. They take some left and right,
0:12:30 > 0:12:33you don't know, you don't hear anything anymore.
0:12:33 > 0:12:36They took men for what reason at the beginning?
0:12:36 > 0:12:37Any reason.
0:12:37 > 0:12:39To kill them! Kill them!
0:12:39 > 0:12:41If you are...
0:12:41 > 0:12:44If you want somebody, you don't need a reason.
0:12:45 > 0:12:51We just stopped practising because we thought, "Finished."
0:12:51 > 0:12:55In the meantime, both teachers
0:12:55 > 0:12:59sent to please come back and finish the year.
0:12:59 > 0:13:04So, we came and Toni made her diploma
0:13:04 > 0:13:05under the Nazis.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10- With the highest honours. - Highest honours.
0:13:10 > 0:13:13- You want to see my...? - Yes, can I see it?
0:13:13 > 0:13:18You know where it is? In the laundry, in the linen closet. OK.
0:13:20 > 0:13:22Rosi, where is it?
0:13:22 > 0:13:24OK.
0:13:24 > 0:13:26You'll have to come.
0:13:26 > 0:13:30All right, wait a minute, wait.
0:13:30 > 0:13:32The linen closet.
0:13:32 > 0:13:36The linen closet contains a lot of important things.
0:13:37 > 0:13:39Oh, my God.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43- Signed Hakenkreuz.- Swastika.
0:13:43 > 0:13:45- Ja.- Ja.
0:13:45 > 0:13:48Kobalt was sitting there and he said,
0:13:48 > 0:13:52"Toni Grunschlag, you are somebody."
0:13:52 > 0:13:54It's the highest honour.
0:13:54 > 0:13:56You can't go higher.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59It's really beautiful and sunny.
0:13:59 > 0:14:04See, I don't know all these little streets here.
0:14:06 > 0:14:10You know, you saw so many... So many soldiers,
0:14:10 > 0:14:12it was frightening.
0:14:12 > 0:14:17When you heard the shoe steps, the boot steps
0:14:17 > 0:14:21from the Nazis coming up the steps,
0:14:21 > 0:14:24in a rhythmic way,
0:14:24 > 0:14:26deliberate rhythm...
0:14:29 > 0:14:33..you absolutely started shaking behind your closed door.
0:14:34 > 0:14:36You didn't know which door...
0:14:37 > 0:14:41..will they stop? And the heart was beating,
0:14:41 > 0:14:46that you had to hold on it shouldn't fall out, you know?
0:14:46 > 0:14:49Then, when he'd passed the door without incident...
0:14:51 > 0:14:54..you said, "Thank the Lord."
0:14:54 > 0:14:57But who did... Who did they get?
0:15:03 > 0:15:05SPEAKS IN GERMAN
0:15:09 > 0:15:11Uh-huh.
0:15:15 > 0:15:18The family apartment, large room, small room and kitchen,
0:15:18 > 0:15:20was on the 5th floor.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24That was nearly 70 years ago.
0:15:26 > 0:15:30Our men of the family were out.
0:15:30 > 0:15:32It was just my mother,
0:15:32 > 0:15:35who became panic-stricken,
0:15:35 > 0:15:37and Toni and I.
0:15:37 > 0:15:39I can't do that any more.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42Every day, three or four times.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45You see, no wonder we got a lot of exercise.
0:15:48 > 0:15:50A-ha.
0:15:50 > 0:15:52This is the apartment...
0:15:54 > 0:15:56..where I was born.
0:16:01 > 0:16:04You see, the people are not here anymore.
0:16:07 > 0:16:11But you could only keep out of sight for so long.
0:16:11 > 0:16:16One evening a man, a local shopkeeper, came to the door.
0:16:16 > 0:16:18He said, "Come."
0:16:18 > 0:16:21We were just eating supper,
0:16:21 > 0:16:24night, evening time,
0:16:24 > 0:16:28and so we left everything as is.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31- And what did we do? - We walked. What did we do?
0:16:31 > 0:16:33He took us to the police station.
0:16:33 > 0:16:38They put us in cells, there were prostitutes, all kinds.
0:16:38 > 0:16:41It was crowded like sardines.
0:16:41 > 0:16:42My mother was with us.
0:16:42 > 0:16:46And then they took her out to someplace else and Toni insisted,
0:16:46 > 0:16:50"I want to be with my mother, where's my mother, my mother?"
0:16:50 > 0:16:52Well, finally, all right.
0:16:52 > 0:16:54We were taken to a school
0:16:54 > 0:16:58and stayed there overnight.
0:17:00 > 0:17:03And then they let us go and they said,
0:17:03 > 0:17:07"You go directly to the police station to report."
0:17:08 > 0:17:14Well, you know, in Vienna, in Austria you are used to do as you're told.
0:17:14 > 0:17:18We came, people lined up,
0:17:18 > 0:17:20always lines.
0:17:20 > 0:17:23We were given a number.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29My mother was given a number, Toni and I.
0:17:31 > 0:17:33You had to report six days a week.
0:17:35 > 0:17:36To the police.
0:17:36 > 0:17:39Bump, bump. Bump, bump. You gave your number, not your name.
0:17:41 > 0:17:45It was open season in the city for persecuting Jews.
0:17:45 > 0:17:49One night, a Nazi pushed his way into the small apartment.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54He came and looked at the apartment.
0:17:57 > 0:18:02The walls were just freshly decorated
0:18:02 > 0:18:08and he said, "I'm moving in to the cabinet."
0:18:08 > 0:18:10It's the smaller room.
0:18:10 > 0:18:13- He was a terrible man. - He was the lowest of the lowest.
0:18:13 > 0:18:15A landstreicher. You know what a landstreicher is?
0:18:15 > 0:18:18- A bum.- A bum.- OK.
0:18:18 > 0:18:20And now we got it defined.
0:18:20 > 0:18:22And he had his concubine.
0:18:23 > 0:18:25So they moved in and they took...
0:18:25 > 0:18:29And they had a big dog, a German Shepherd. He never barked at us.
0:18:29 > 0:18:31He was the best of them.
0:18:31 > 0:18:35You know, he brought up friends every night
0:18:35 > 0:18:43and they talked and loud and scream and were drinking,
0:18:43 > 0:18:48so that nice neighbour from across, she would tell us the next morning,
0:18:48 > 0:18:52"I was so afraid, what happens if he throws in a door
0:18:52 > 0:18:55"and kills you all, attacks you?
0:18:55 > 0:18:59"Where are you going to go?"
0:18:59 > 0:19:01- So, eventually...- We knew. We knew.
0:19:01 > 0:19:03We left.
0:19:06 > 0:19:10Their piano was taken and other possessions.
0:19:10 > 0:19:13They moved out to a room with a Jewish family nearby.
0:19:15 > 0:19:18Here lived Goldman under us.
0:19:18 > 0:19:24The father was taken shortly after by the Gestapo.
0:19:26 > 0:19:31And, whatever happened to him,
0:19:31 > 0:19:33we asked her later,
0:19:33 > 0:19:35"What have you heard?"
0:19:35 > 0:19:38"Oh, yeah, they sent his ashes home."
0:19:40 > 0:19:42So. There you are.
0:19:43 > 0:19:46People didn't know anything, really.
0:19:49 > 0:19:52Best thing was not to ask and not to know.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08In November 1938 came Kristallnacht,
0:20:08 > 0:20:10the Night of Broken Glass,
0:20:10 > 0:20:14a night of concerted attacks on Jewish premises.
0:20:14 > 0:20:164,000 Jews were sent to concentration camps.
0:20:19 > 0:20:23Kristallnacht, oh, you heard all this glass,
0:20:23 > 0:20:26the windows, all the stores.
0:20:26 > 0:20:28It was a horrible night, horrible.
0:20:28 > 0:20:32- Any of the Jewish stores, the windows...- Boom!- ..were blasted.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39We were not going out
0:20:39 > 0:20:45and the neighbours thought that we had committed suicide
0:20:45 > 0:20:47as a lot of other people did.
0:20:57 > 0:21:01Toni and her friend Valli went for a walk.
0:21:01 > 0:21:04Well, they were taken right on the street
0:21:04 > 0:21:07to brush the street clean
0:21:07 > 0:21:11while people looked, laughed and spit on them.
0:21:13 > 0:21:18The Austrian borders were sealed. The girls' desperate hope,
0:21:18 > 0:21:21along with thousands of other Jews, was to get visas to leave.
0:21:21 > 0:21:25In January 1939, they heard that their father and brother
0:21:25 > 0:21:30in Palestine had been able to secure a visa only for their mother.
0:21:31 > 0:21:36She cried and cried and, you know, we took her to the train,
0:21:36 > 0:21:41she couldn't say enough goodbye and we were happy.
0:21:41 > 0:21:43We were relieved, Toni and I.
0:21:43 > 0:21:48- We never felt afraid. - We felt... Yes, Toni, don't say that.
0:21:48 > 0:21:52You know you are a big cheese here but, you know,
0:21:52 > 0:21:57I tell you that we were feeling that we were young.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00We were healthy. She was not.
0:22:00 > 0:22:05That we could even walk illegally over the border if necessary.
0:22:06 > 0:22:11Toni was lining up on the American Embassy
0:22:11 > 0:22:15with all the men to get a piece of paper to...
0:22:15 > 0:22:18- I was a little girl! - She was, you know,
0:22:18 > 0:22:23lining up with the men all night, around the clock at the embassy.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26She tried everything.
0:22:26 > 0:22:28She usually was an optimist,
0:22:28 > 0:22:32but it was hard to stay that way.
0:22:33 > 0:22:37The girls were alone and trapped.
0:22:37 > 0:22:41Out of the blue, it was music that offered the possibility of escape.
0:22:41 > 0:22:47Somebody told us that Huberman was in Budapest,
0:22:47 > 0:22:50playing concerts.
0:22:50 > 0:22:52He was a big cheese.
0:22:52 > 0:22:54You have no idea how big he was.
0:22:54 > 0:22:59- Toni wrote...- I wrote a very... - "Dear Maestro."- ..pitiful letter.
0:22:59 > 0:23:02"Dear Maestro.
0:23:02 > 0:23:07"We are here, alone. My mother has gone to my brother.
0:23:09 > 0:23:13"We have to... How will we get out? You're our only hope."
0:23:15 > 0:23:17Do you know...
0:23:18 > 0:23:20- ..we had a telegram from him. - From him.
0:23:20 > 0:23:22From the train.
0:23:22 > 0:23:28"I am from Budapest going to... on my way to Zagreb
0:23:28 > 0:23:32"and will be in London, will try what I can."
0:23:32 > 0:23:36- He did. He did.- Very laconic,
0:23:36 > 0:23:39very Spartan, but it told us a lot.
0:23:41 > 0:23:43He was a wonderful man.
0:23:43 > 0:23:45He went to London.
0:23:45 > 0:23:49In three weeks, we had student visas.
0:23:51 > 0:23:56We did not go to the... to collect the visa personally
0:23:56 > 0:24:01because in case the nose didn't fit to them,
0:24:01 > 0:24:05or maybe you said something that wasn't suitable.
0:24:05 > 0:24:11You become... You become paranoid. I'm telling you,
0:24:11 > 0:24:15under these circumstances you don't think normal anymore.
0:24:19 > 0:24:23And with the visas came passports, issued by the Nazis.
0:24:24 > 0:24:27You see the Hakenkreuz?
0:24:28 > 0:24:32- Yeah.- Can you show me inside?
0:24:32 > 0:24:36Not too much. This is my picture.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39- Very pretty.- Yeah, and pigtails.
0:24:39 > 0:24:41SHE LAUGHS
0:24:41 > 0:24:45The Germans had, by now, invaded Czechoslovakia,
0:24:45 > 0:24:49and while the sisters were ready to go, they were still far from safe.
0:24:49 > 0:24:51This must be it.
0:24:55 > 0:24:58Toni and Rosi received a monthly stipend
0:24:58 > 0:25:02from the coal and steel company, Gutmann Brothers,
0:25:02 > 0:25:04which supported young musicians.
0:25:04 > 0:25:08The company was now in German hands and Toni and Rosi were summoned.
0:25:08 > 0:25:11They sent a postcard.
0:25:11 > 0:25:16"You are requested to come and bring your...
0:25:16 > 0:25:19"Show your ancestry."
0:25:20 > 0:25:24- They were in a beautiful palace. - Beautiful.
0:25:24 > 0:25:26Excellent.
0:25:26 > 0:25:30The big sign, "Juden. Eintritt verboten."
0:25:30 > 0:25:33"Jews are not permitted here."
0:25:33 > 0:25:36So, we went there. We come in...
0:25:38 > 0:25:43..was handsome German, I think an SS officer.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46He clicked his heels...
0:25:47 > 0:25:49No, I don't think he did that.
0:25:51 > 0:25:52And he said,
0:25:52 > 0:25:58"Was your father employed here for his many years of service?"
0:25:58 > 0:26:01He didn't know what the money was for.
0:26:02 > 0:26:06So we said, "No, die gebruder Gutmann
0:26:06 > 0:26:09"were music-loving people,
0:26:09 > 0:26:12"we studied, we are students of music
0:26:12 > 0:26:16- "and they supported." - They were good to us.
0:26:16 > 0:26:21He said, "We want to finalise this now. I'll tell you what,
0:26:21 > 0:26:25"bring your entire family, every one of your family,
0:26:25 > 0:26:31"this afternoon and each one will get this amount of money
0:26:31 > 0:26:36"and everyone will sign that, no more, that's it."
0:26:38 > 0:26:40Well, is this a trap?
0:26:41 > 0:26:44So, we walked the streets.
0:26:44 > 0:26:47Should we or shouldn't we?
0:26:47 > 0:26:51It was a tremendous moment, what can I tell you?
0:26:51 > 0:26:55- Anxiety is not the word for it.- No.
0:26:55 > 0:26:57Life or death?
0:26:57 > 0:27:00What if they take us?
0:27:00 > 0:27:02Nobody would know.
0:27:02 > 0:27:04We were the only ones left in the family.
0:27:07 > 0:27:08I'll tell you.
0:27:08 > 0:27:10We went back.
0:27:11 > 0:27:16We went back and we said, "Well, here we are."
0:27:18 > 0:27:21He had the money ready.
0:27:25 > 0:27:27We told him that we're going...
0:27:28 > 0:27:31..that our papers are ready to go.
0:27:33 > 0:27:38"Ich wuensche ihnen viel glueck in ihren neuen heimat."
0:27:38 > 0:27:39That's what he said.
0:27:39 > 0:27:43"I wish you lots of luck in your new home."
0:27:44 > 0:27:47He recognised something in us.
0:27:48 > 0:27:51He clicked his heels and said...
0:27:51 > 0:27:54- Aufwiedersehen. - A handsome, handsome man.
0:27:55 > 0:27:57He was a good Nazi.
0:27:58 > 0:28:03At last, on 23rd of April 1939, they were at the station.
0:28:03 > 0:28:05An officious railway inspector
0:28:05 > 0:28:08was all that stood between them and the train out.
0:28:10 > 0:28:13The suitcase he didn't want because he didn't know.
0:28:13 > 0:28:16He said, "How do I know? I cannot look at this."
0:28:16 > 0:28:21He saw it was music but, you know, you can have something in-between.
0:28:21 > 0:28:24- So, he said, "How do I know? I cannot tell."- You don't know.
0:28:24 > 0:28:26"Cannot go through."
0:28:26 > 0:28:29- Oh, I know.- Ja, so Toni said...
0:28:29 > 0:28:33- How did you know to give him money? - Oh, because being Viennese, you can.
0:28:33 > 0:28:36- Wien. Wien...- You know?- Wien.
0:28:39 > 0:28:41A drink, a drink, a drink.
0:28:41 > 0:28:44So, you speak a little dialect to him.
0:28:44 > 0:28:46You say...
0:28:51 > 0:28:55Why would I think of something like what you are saying?
0:28:55 > 0:28:56You know?
0:28:58 > 0:29:01I tell you, that was it.
0:29:01 > 0:29:02Out.
0:29:02 > 0:29:04Out.
0:29:04 > 0:29:06One thing, out.
0:29:09 > 0:29:13A European war was now certain, but still a few months away.
0:29:15 > 0:29:18German soldiers patrolled the train
0:29:18 > 0:29:21which had to take them first into Germany,
0:29:21 > 0:29:22then 500 miles across it...
0:29:26 > 0:29:28..until at last they reached the border with Holland.
0:29:31 > 0:29:37Oh, that was really a wonderful feeling, you know?
0:29:37 > 0:29:40Finally freedom.
0:29:42 > 0:29:46'200 boys and girls wave a greeting to England, land of the free.
0:29:46 > 0:29:49'The advanced guard of the first 5,000 Jewish and non-Aryan
0:29:49 > 0:29:52'child refugees to be provided with a temporary home here
0:29:52 > 0:29:57'while arrangements are made for them to emigrate.'
0:29:57 > 0:29:59Like these other refugees from Europe,
0:29:59 > 0:30:01the sisters arrived in Britain
0:30:01 > 0:30:03knowing no-one and little of the language.
0:30:03 > 0:30:06'What a blessing to be young.'
0:30:14 > 0:30:20So, we made it to London and there the Jewish Agency was wonderful.
0:30:20 > 0:30:23For a tuppence, you could have lunch there,
0:30:23 > 0:30:27which consisted of sandwiches, hot tea, fruit,
0:30:27 > 0:30:31and if you're very young enough, a piece of sweet.
0:30:31 > 0:30:33Which I got, always, you know.
0:30:36 > 0:30:38Very soon, the Jewish Relief Agency
0:30:38 > 0:30:41found someone willing to offer them a temporary home.
0:30:41 > 0:30:44Her name was Alison Bagenal.
0:30:44 > 0:30:48We had a call that a lady wanted to see us.
0:30:48 > 0:30:51Very typically English person.
0:30:51 > 0:30:55- We did not all understand her English.- No.
0:30:55 > 0:30:59And because our English was rather limited at that time
0:30:59 > 0:31:04and so some of her words were... I'd never heard.
0:31:04 > 0:31:07The word like "preps",
0:31:07 > 0:31:10which was really "perhaps",
0:31:10 > 0:31:13but it was hard to separate the syllables.
0:31:13 > 0:31:18And asking us many questions. Our English was not very good.
0:31:18 > 0:31:23If we played tennis, or horseback riding or this and that.
0:31:23 > 0:31:29And we said, "No, no." We must have sounded rather boring.
0:31:29 > 0:31:33But the only thing we could say that we played a piano.
0:31:33 > 0:31:38And she wanted one girl for two months,
0:31:38 > 0:31:42but she had to be musical in case they couldn't stand her,
0:31:42 > 0:31:47at least the music would, kind of, help over the two months.
0:31:47 > 0:31:52Here we are, Rosi. Over there.
0:31:52 > 0:31:53It's like a labyrinth
0:31:53 > 0:31:57Oh, this side, yes.
0:31:57 > 0:32:00The Bagenal family that took them in
0:32:00 > 0:32:04lived in the Hertfordshire countryside, just north of London.
0:32:04 > 0:32:07The house is still in the same family.
0:32:07 > 0:32:09She had an upright piano
0:32:09 > 0:32:13and we were used to playing on a grand.
0:32:13 > 0:32:16Excuse me for saying to be oh, so...
0:32:16 > 0:32:18SHE LAUGHS
0:32:18 > 0:32:22But then, of course, I knew that we had to show what we can do.
0:32:22 > 0:32:24This is the moment.
0:32:24 > 0:32:25What did you play?
0:32:25 > 0:32:27Oh, I'll tell you what I played.
0:32:27 > 0:32:30I played... I had in my fingers still...
0:32:30 > 0:32:34The Liszt Rigoletto Paraphrase.
0:32:34 > 0:32:36# Da-da-da-da... #
0:32:36 > 0:32:39PIANO MUSIC PLAYS
0:33:08 > 0:33:11We played for the benefit of her church.
0:33:11 > 0:33:16We went to entertain some of the people, and all that,
0:33:16 > 0:33:21and I think she enjoyed us, too, as much as we appreciated her.
0:33:21 > 0:33:23She enjoyed us very much.
0:33:23 > 0:33:28She gave us back our emotional stability, I would say,
0:33:28 > 0:33:30which you can't measure.
0:33:30 > 0:33:34You know, she was playing with Rosi or with me.
0:33:34 > 0:33:40She was playing with you four hands, duets. Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn.
0:33:40 > 0:33:42What happened in the kitchen?
0:33:42 > 0:33:47In the kitchen, the supper was cooking in the meantime, and then,
0:33:47 > 0:33:50"Oh, oh, oh! I think I'd better look at the supper,"
0:33:50 > 0:33:55you know, and she ran and, a little bit, it was burned, not too bad.
0:33:59 > 0:34:02The stay became five happy months of freedom.
0:34:07 > 0:34:09Really lovely.
0:34:09 > 0:34:12Imagine waking up to this.
0:34:12 > 0:34:19No wonder, you know we had very happy days here. Very happy.
0:34:21 > 0:34:26But Britain was now at war and their father planned a new family home
0:34:26 > 0:34:28in the still-neutral United States.
0:34:28 > 0:34:31"They were really sad at going and their sorrow
0:34:31 > 0:34:35"made them quite helpless and rather quarrelsome with each other."
0:34:35 > 0:34:38Alison Bagenal wrote about the girls' last days in England.
0:34:40 > 0:34:43"On Sunday evening, Rosi wept over supper.
0:34:43 > 0:34:45"Toni had bad toothache and wept, too.
0:34:45 > 0:34:49"Rosi fled to the dark drawing room and after a few minutes
0:34:49 > 0:34:53"played her Beethoven better than she has ever played it."
0:34:53 > 0:34:56"I saw them off early next morning on the boat train.
0:34:56 > 0:34:58"It was a sad parting."
0:35:00 > 0:35:04We left and, you know, I don't know who cried more.
0:35:04 > 0:35:06We, or she.
0:35:07 > 0:35:10It was a very hard parting.
0:35:12 > 0:35:18In October 1939, seven weeks after Britain declared war on Germany,
0:35:18 > 0:35:21Toni and Rosi sailed to New York on the SS Washington.
0:35:23 > 0:35:26Their parents were still waiting to leave Palestine,
0:35:26 > 0:35:30so Toni and Rosi were to stay with an uncle they'd never met.
0:35:35 > 0:35:40After a day or two we told him we have to get to a piano.
0:35:40 > 0:35:42We just simply have to.
0:35:42 > 0:35:47"All right, we'll try the Plymouth Church." He lived in Brooklyn.
0:35:48 > 0:35:51It's on Orange and Pineapple Street,
0:35:51 > 0:35:53I remember distinctly.
0:35:53 > 0:35:55And they said, yes,
0:35:55 > 0:35:59that we could practise mornings there,
0:35:59 > 0:36:03but in return we had to reciprocate
0:36:03 > 0:36:06and play for their Friday-night social.
0:36:06 > 0:36:08Which we did.
0:36:10 > 0:36:14Six week after Toni and Rosi landed, their parents did arrive.
0:36:14 > 0:36:17The family made itself known to the local Rabbi.
0:36:17 > 0:36:21To make some money, the girls played for members of his congregation.
0:36:22 > 0:36:25Then he collected money for us.
0:36:25 > 0:36:28He said, "A dollar for a minute."
0:36:28 > 0:36:33So, Toni played a campanella. How many minutes did it take?
0:36:33 > 0:36:34I don't know.
0:36:34 > 0:36:39So, anyway, we have ten dollars. 15 dollars for this piece.
0:36:39 > 0:36:41And so he made us a hundred dollars.
0:36:41 > 0:36:46My goodness, I think we were right next to Rockefeller at that time.
0:36:50 > 0:36:52The family didn't dwell on what might have been.
0:36:52 > 0:36:56Their need was to build a new life for themselves
0:36:56 > 0:36:58in an America now at war.
0:36:58 > 0:37:01They moved into a one-bedroom apartment
0:37:01 > 0:37:05on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It was a squeeze.
0:37:05 > 0:37:10Parents in the bedroom, the girls and grand piano in the living room.
0:37:10 > 0:37:14That was 1943. They've been in the same building ever since.
0:37:14 > 0:37:19My father worked, during war years, nightshift
0:37:19 > 0:37:25in order to buy us this Steinway, right here.
0:37:27 > 0:37:31Which we bought second-hand for 850.
0:37:37 > 0:37:40Very beautiful piano, still, to this day.
0:37:46 > 0:37:50My mother was very happy in Manhattan.
0:37:50 > 0:37:55She was really happy, we began to have a more regulated life.
0:37:55 > 0:38:02It was more, very, you know, home life, we began to have.
0:38:04 > 0:38:07The close-knit Grunschlag family from a small apartment in Vienna,
0:38:07 > 0:38:10was now a tight family unit in New York,
0:38:10 > 0:38:13the girls, seeking to restart their careers in music.
0:38:13 > 0:38:19And they got a break. A chance to play for Olin Downes.
0:38:22 > 0:38:26Olin Downes was the top critic of the New York Times.
0:38:26 > 0:38:30Very important man. He could make or break you.
0:38:30 > 0:38:34He looked at his watch, he said,
0:38:34 > 0:38:39"I have exactly 15 minutes, that's all."
0:38:39 > 0:38:41- Boy!- "Let's go."
0:38:41 > 0:38:46All right. Toni played, then I played.
0:38:48 > 0:38:50You know, became an hour and a half.
0:38:52 > 0:38:55- One hour and a half. - And do you know what he said?
0:38:55 > 0:39:00He said, "You know, you are so different
0:39:00 > 0:39:02"in character of playing,
0:39:02 > 0:39:07"that I think you ought to join into two-piano team."
0:39:07 > 0:39:13- He said, "Go out and play." - He gave us the idea of even going.
0:39:13 > 0:39:17We never thought about it. That wasn't in our mind.
0:39:21 > 0:39:25They made their debut as a piano duo at New York Town Hall
0:39:25 > 0:39:29shortly before the end of World War Two in March 1945.
0:39:33 > 0:39:36They were signed up by the great piano-maker, Steinway...
0:39:37 > 0:39:40..played at Carnegie Hall, toured Europe
0:39:40 > 0:39:43and performed alongside many famous names.
0:39:51 > 0:39:54"I heartily recommend to you this disc...
0:39:54 > 0:39:56"Exuberant."
0:39:57 > 0:40:00I tell you, we were good.
0:40:01 > 0:40:05Their mother died in New York in 1949.
0:40:05 > 0:40:07Brother David had remained in Israel.
0:40:07 > 0:40:10The girls continued to live with their father
0:40:10 > 0:40:13in the same building where there were now two grand pianos.
0:40:16 > 0:40:21In a few years, they were able to buy a summer home on Cape Cod.
0:40:21 > 0:40:24Where there also had to be two grand pianos.
0:40:44 > 0:40:49A piano duo requires a particular affinity between the players.
0:40:51 > 0:40:56And many leading duos have been married. Or brothers or sisters.
0:41:06 > 0:41:08It's all I dreamt about.
0:41:08 > 0:41:10Just piano?
0:41:11 > 0:41:13Rosi and I.
0:41:13 > 0:41:18I don't remember that I ever went out with anyone in particular.
0:41:20 > 0:41:23Now, this is a very young picture
0:41:23 > 0:41:26and that was my boyfriend. You're asking for boyfriends?
0:41:26 > 0:41:29Here is my boyfriend.
0:41:29 > 0:41:32Erich. He was a neighbour of the house.
0:41:32 > 0:41:36I can't believe there weren't a lot more, Rosi, when I see you.
0:41:36 > 0:41:39Oh, there were. There were, but, you know, have to be strong.
0:41:42 > 0:41:47There was a suitor. Hymie, a South African jazz fan
0:41:47 > 0:41:51who was invited to stay with the family on Cape Cod.
0:41:51 > 0:41:57And in the morning he started off... Mind you, before coffee...
0:41:57 > 0:42:01# Oh, baby! Oh, baby! #
0:42:01 > 0:42:04And, me, we were shocked.
0:42:04 > 0:42:07Didn't say anything and listened.
0:42:07 > 0:42:12My father looked at me and I looked at him.
0:42:12 > 0:42:14What's this?
0:42:14 > 0:42:19And he said, "I will ask your father for your hand,"
0:42:19 > 0:42:23and I told him right then, "Don't."
0:42:23 > 0:42:25Let's face it,
0:42:25 > 0:42:29every man wants his six o'clock dinner on time
0:42:29 > 0:42:34and, you know, as a musician you cannot have six o'clock
0:42:34 > 0:42:37or six thirty on time, the dinner on the table.
0:42:39 > 0:42:43This was a family that was hard to break into.
0:42:43 > 0:42:45But there were friends and music.
0:42:49 > 0:42:52I can't remember anyone that didn't like music
0:42:52 > 0:42:57that was in our circle, actually.
0:42:57 > 0:43:02You know, concerts, "Did you hear so-and-so, what did you think?"
0:43:02 > 0:43:05It always was connected to music.
0:43:10 > 0:43:12To supplement their concert income,
0:43:12 > 0:43:15Toni Grunschlag, from Vienna, decided to teach.
0:43:15 > 0:43:19Not just anywhere, but at one of America's top girls' schools.
0:43:20 > 0:43:25And the headmistress would like to meet her
0:43:25 > 0:43:28at the Plaza for lunch.
0:43:28 > 0:43:33I think the lunch was really planned to see table manners,
0:43:33 > 0:43:38if she would fit in with the nice class of girls
0:43:38 > 0:43:41that are being educated there.
0:43:41 > 0:43:45Started in September, and with the first class
0:43:45 > 0:43:47she was right away a success.
0:43:53 > 0:43:56And where Toni went, Rosi was sure to follow.
0:43:57 > 0:44:02They taught at the school for 24 years.
0:44:02 > 0:44:04They made friends with a fellow teacher.
0:44:04 > 0:44:07She moved into their apartment building in New York 40 years ago,
0:44:07 > 0:44:10and she's still there.
0:44:10 > 0:44:13Very definite ideas.
0:44:13 > 0:44:16Quite inflexible ideas.
0:44:16 > 0:44:18Once they believe something
0:44:18 > 0:44:21or they know something, that's it.
0:44:21 > 0:44:24You're not going to change their minds about anything.
0:44:24 > 0:44:26When I'm, sort of, wavering a bit,
0:44:26 > 0:44:30I think it needs a Grunschlag to stiffen my spine in some way.
0:44:30 > 0:44:33Then tell the agency that you'll take them
0:44:33 > 0:44:36before they're being given away to someone else.
0:44:36 > 0:44:39We have always had good reviews.
0:44:39 > 0:44:42You know what our great thing is?
0:44:42 > 0:44:46That we play with great spontaneity.
0:44:46 > 0:44:50- It's alive.- It's alive. We play with great life.
0:44:50 > 0:44:56- Full of living.- A lot of people played perfect, letter perfect.
0:44:56 > 0:45:01And there are some that are very wonderful, but are not very great.
0:45:01 > 0:45:03So, you know.
0:45:07 > 0:45:10Toni and Rosi, rigorous in everything,
0:45:10 > 0:45:13would perform only music written for two pianos.
0:45:13 > 0:45:15So they delved into the archives
0:45:15 > 0:45:18to make the first recording of the Dussek Double Concerto,
0:45:18 > 0:45:19composed 300 years ago.
0:45:41 > 0:45:43PHONE RINGS
0:45:45 > 0:45:47Hello?
0:45:48 > 0:45:50Ja.
0:45:50 > 0:45:54Tomorrow morning, but in the evening I'm going to the theatre.
0:45:54 > 0:45:57- Have you liked the Dussek? - It's very nice.
0:45:57 > 0:45:59- It's nice.- I'd better go!
0:46:02 > 0:46:07Their father only retired at 87 when the firm closed down.
0:46:07 > 0:46:09He died six years later, on Cape Cod.
0:46:15 > 0:46:18Wow, look at that. Oh, he gives me a chance.
0:46:18 > 0:46:20Thank you.
0:46:22 > 0:46:27Toni cooked, we both shopped
0:46:27 > 0:46:31and I washed up. It was 50/50.
0:46:34 > 0:46:37Second only to music, was family duty.
0:46:37 > 0:46:41Toni and Rosi housed their brother's teenage son for three years
0:46:41 > 0:46:44and also looked after his young sister, Dorit.
0:46:45 > 0:46:48They took very seriously
0:46:48 > 0:46:52the need to make me into a proper young lady
0:46:52 > 0:46:54and I remember vividly, um,
0:46:54 > 0:46:57them telling me we're going down town and going by the subway
0:46:57 > 0:47:00and they thought that I should wear white gloves going to the subway.
0:47:00 > 0:47:02Now, this is the '60s in New York.
0:47:07 > 0:47:09It was always looked on as a joint thing
0:47:09 > 0:47:12and I guess, as a young person, I should have realised
0:47:12 > 0:47:15that they were two separate individuals, but I didn't.
0:47:15 > 0:47:17I thought of them...
0:47:17 > 0:47:20And to this day it's hard for me to separate one from the other.
0:47:20 > 0:47:23Well, I thought, "Oh, this is going to be a good performance."
0:47:23 > 0:47:25See, that's our...
0:47:25 > 0:47:29They continued to attack music with the same spirit they attacked life.
0:47:29 > 0:47:33LAUGHING OK. You see me hanging on.
0:47:33 > 0:47:35SHE LAUGHS
0:47:35 > 0:47:38They turned more and more to 20th-century music.
0:47:38 > 0:47:40Several composers wrote specially for them.
0:47:40 > 0:47:42Nothing was too challenging.
0:47:42 > 0:47:45They gave the first American performance
0:47:45 > 0:47:48of the Hindemith Sonata for two pianos.
0:47:48 > 0:47:51It's a wonderful piece. You know?
0:47:51 > 0:47:53It's a terrific piece.
0:47:53 > 0:47:59You know what it does? It...it makes you rise inside.
0:47:59 > 0:48:01# Bom-bom, bi, bom-bom-bom. #
0:48:01 > 0:48:04There are pieces that make you feel good when you play it.
0:48:04 > 0:48:07The fugue is very good. Oh, this is gorgeous!
0:48:07 > 0:48:10With others you are joyful, you feel like dancing.
0:48:10 > 0:48:13But this really makes you...
0:48:13 > 0:48:15stand up.
0:48:27 > 0:48:29- We're very critical of each other. - You are?
0:48:29 > 0:48:33We are critical of each other, ja!
0:48:33 > 0:48:36Rosi will tell me, "Toni, keep quiet."
0:48:36 > 0:48:40Ja, I mean, you know, whatever needs to be done.
0:48:40 > 0:48:42But, I mean, that's OK, you don't worry about it.
0:48:42 > 0:48:44You don't get insulted
0:48:44 > 0:48:48because you know it's for the good of the performance.
0:49:04 > 0:49:06You have to make comment what it's like.
0:49:06 > 0:49:08I don't know, Toni.
0:49:11 > 0:49:13I thought I played it.
0:49:13 > 0:49:17Toni, you didn't. This is us here, then we go from here.
0:49:17 > 0:49:19I'll have to come in again.
0:49:20 > 0:49:25DOG BARKS Oh, quiet. We don't need your competition.
0:49:31 > 0:49:35Shall I tell you about her illness? '93?
0:49:37 > 0:49:40There were two shattering blows.
0:49:40 > 0:49:42Rosi was diagnosed with breast cancer.
0:49:44 > 0:49:47Within 36 hours, illness struck Toni.
0:49:48 > 0:49:52Saturday morning, seven o'clock.
0:49:52 > 0:49:53I got up
0:49:53 > 0:49:57and I see Toni is already downstairs.
0:49:57 > 0:50:00Unusual. The dog too.
0:50:02 > 0:50:06Now, the dog doesn't go by itself down the stairs.
0:50:09 > 0:50:11And she's down there...
0:50:16 > 0:50:18..and I said, "Toni..."
0:50:19 > 0:50:23..and she only said, "Ja, ja, ja, ja, ja?"
0:50:23 > 0:50:26I noticed something was wrong.
0:50:26 > 0:50:29She'd suffered a brain haemorrhage
0:50:29 > 0:50:32and was rushed to hospital in Boston.
0:50:32 > 0:50:35She didn't know me.
0:50:35 > 0:50:37She didn't recognise me.
0:50:37 > 0:50:40She couldn't talk,
0:50:40 > 0:50:41she couldn't walk.
0:50:45 > 0:50:50After nearly three months, Rosi, being treated for cancer herself,
0:50:50 > 0:50:54fought to get Toni a different doctor and different treatment.
0:50:55 > 0:50:58Well, it was a different Toni.
0:50:58 > 0:51:03"Oh, Rosi! Here you are, how are you?"
0:51:03 > 0:51:08You know, she recognised me. She talked.
0:51:08 > 0:51:13It was again music which signalled the change in their lives.
0:51:13 > 0:51:16There was a little upright, a little spinet
0:51:16 > 0:51:23and she said to me, "What shall I play?"
0:51:23 > 0:51:28And I said to her, "Play the opening of the Chopin Nocturne In C Minor."
0:51:33 > 0:51:35And Toni played it.
0:51:36 > 0:51:39Then she said, "What else should I play?"
0:51:39 > 0:51:43And I said, "Why don't you play the Chopin Fantasie?"
0:51:44 > 0:51:47# Dor-r-r rum, ba-ba, rom. #
0:51:47 > 0:51:51She played it. I knew she would play.
0:51:51 > 0:51:52PIANO MUSIC
0:51:56 > 0:52:01You know, you don't feel dressed without the lipstick.
0:52:01 > 0:52:03It's part of the dressing.
0:52:03 > 0:52:06You're talking.
0:52:06 > 0:52:08Oh, good. I'm a good person.
0:52:14 > 0:52:16I'm smiling.
0:52:19 > 0:52:23- I don't have any lipstick, have you got it?- It's in here.- OK.
0:52:30 > 0:52:3267 years after they'd fled Vienna,
0:52:32 > 0:52:34Toni and Rosi were invited back
0:52:34 > 0:52:37to play at events commemorating the holocaust,
0:52:37 > 0:52:39from which they had been saved.
0:52:39 > 0:52:44I came back, the first time, in '68.
0:52:45 > 0:52:48Ja. Very mixed feelings.
0:52:48 > 0:52:51And, you know,
0:52:51 > 0:52:54I looked at everybody's face in the streetcar...
0:52:56 > 0:52:58..and I wondered...
0:52:59 > 0:53:02"..What were you doing at that time?"
0:53:03 > 0:53:07- But it's been in the newspaper. - Ja.- And on TV.
0:53:07 > 0:53:09- Ooh, yes.- Sit straight. Naughty.
0:53:12 > 0:53:15Toni, very ill again, was in her 90th year.
0:53:19 > 0:53:21They played three concerts in two days.
0:53:27 > 0:53:3065,000 Austrian Jews had perished.
0:53:30 > 0:53:34Thanks to music, Toni and Rosi had escaped.
0:53:35 > 0:53:41You cannot erase the things from your memory,
0:53:41 > 0:53:44you cannot erase them from your mind.
0:53:44 > 0:53:46In the past, it was always the Jews
0:53:46 > 0:53:50that was blamed and persecuted
0:53:50 > 0:53:55for anything that was...went bad.
0:53:55 > 0:53:59Bad harvest, the water was poisoned, the Jews did it.
0:53:59 > 0:54:05Therefore I wanted to tell young people to study.
0:54:05 > 0:54:08Learn what you can.
0:54:08 > 0:54:11Because when you have to run,
0:54:11 > 0:54:14today maybe the Jew, tomorrow the Catholic
0:54:14 > 0:54:19and the day after the Protestants, it doesn't take much.
0:54:20 > 0:54:25When you have to run for your life, you cannot take your money with you,
0:54:25 > 0:54:31nor your house, but your education no-one can take.
0:54:34 > 0:54:37That is your transportable asset.
0:54:42 > 0:54:44They were thrilled to be playing here again.
0:54:45 > 0:54:48For Toni, it was to be the last time.
0:54:50 > 0:54:52Six months later, she died.
0:55:05 > 0:55:10The life-sustaining and life-enhancing powers of music remain.
0:55:10 > 0:55:13I've always thought that their relationship
0:55:13 > 0:55:19was closer than a marriage, because it lasts throughout life
0:55:19 > 0:55:25and with Toni and Rosi they had gone through so many hardships together,
0:55:25 > 0:55:30they'd survived together and they worked together.
0:55:30 > 0:55:34They had to be totally in synch.
0:55:34 > 0:55:38They almost felt each other's pulse.
0:55:44 > 0:55:46Was there ever a possibility
0:55:46 > 0:55:51that you wouldn't have shared life together here, Rosi?
0:55:51 > 0:55:52Never.
0:55:52 > 0:55:54Never.
0:55:54 > 0:55:56Didn't come into question.
0:55:59 > 0:56:01It just didn't occur.
0:56:03 > 0:56:08Toni always, kind of, protected me and looked after me and, you know...
0:56:08 > 0:56:13And it was a very complete, shared life.
0:56:14 > 0:56:16I miss that.
0:56:32 > 0:56:36Uh... Rosi, you're going too fast for me!
0:56:37 > 0:56:42Though one half of this duo has gone, Rosi is ever-optimistic,
0:56:42 > 0:56:45continuing to attack life with spirit.
0:56:45 > 0:56:47She's learning new repertoire.
0:56:47 > 0:56:51In 2010, she gave recitals in London and New York.
0:56:54 > 0:56:57She's excited about a new CD of recordings she made with Toni.
0:57:00 > 0:57:05Toni and Rosi, two lives sustained by love, saved by music.
0:57:39 > 0:57:42Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:57:42 > 0:57:45E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk