02 Aug TJC: Special Concert, “Violins of Hope,” 8/17!
Helmed by its relatively new ED, Sari Levy, the Telluride Jewish Community or TJC is dedicated to fostering a vibrant, inclusive, and supportive nonprofit that celebrates and strengthens Jewish identity, heritage, and culture.
Towards that end Sari & Co. put together a series of programs this summer that included Jewish cooking classes at the Ah Haa School, films, and hikes. The season culminates with a concert titled “Violins of Hope.” The performance, a duet of music and words by a husband and wife team in town from Istambul, takes place on Sunday, July 17, at Telluride’s Christ Church. Doors, 4 p.m.; concert 5 p.m.
Tickets, $36. Go here to purchase.
And scroll down to watch a short, but utterly inspirational doc about “The Violins of Hope.”
“Violins of Hope” ultimately tells the remarkable stories of instruments played by Jewish musicians during the Holocaust and the Israeli luthiers, Amnon and Avshi Weinstein, who dedicated years of expertise to give the instruments a sound worthy of the best musicians and concert halls in the world, venues such as the Berlin philharmonic, the Cleveland Symphony, and other world-class symphonies.
All the violins the Weinsteins now own were collected post World War II. Many belonged to Jews before and during the war; others were donated by or bought from survivors; some arrived through family members.
The impetus behind the Weinsteins’ labor of love was both personal and professional: restoring violins of the Holocaust was a tribute to those who were lost – including 400 of their own relatives.
When Amnon passed in 2024, Avshi remained dedicated to the project and still owns and tours the collection to teach – and enthrall.
While the provenances of many of these instruments was not always clear, they stood and still stand as symbols of Klezmer and other Jewish traditions that were all but completely destroyed during the Holocaust. Hope is the common denominator of all the violins and a way to say: “Remember me, remember us. Life is good, celebrate it for those who perished, for those who survived. For all people.”
“The violin has formed an important aspect of Jewish culture for centuries, both as a popular instrument with classical Jewish musicians and as a central factor of social life, as in the Klezmer tradition. But during the Holocaust, the violin assumed extraordinary roles within the Jewish community. For some musicians, the instrument was a liberator; for others, it was a savior that spared their lives. For many, the violin provided comfort in mankind’s darkest hour, and, in at least one case, helped avenge murdered family members. Above all, the violins of the Holocaust represent strength and optimism for the future…,” wrote Goodreads in a review of the book about the Weinsteins’ passion project.
Shimon Krongold, courtesy Avshi Weinstein.
JHV 2 The Zimermann-Krongold violin, Warsaw, 1924.
Yaacov Zimermann was one of the first Jewish violin makers in Warsaw. Shimon Krongold was a wealthy industrialist there and an amateur violinist, who ordered a violin made by Zimermann. Zimermann made him a fine instrument with a lovely Star of David inlaid on the back. Inside the violin he glued a label in Yiddish:
“I made this violin for my loyal friend Shimon Krongold , Yaacov Zimermann, Warsaw, 1924.”
The Feivel Wininger violin made by Brother Placht workshop in Schonbach, Germany around 1880.
The Feivel Wininger violin
In Marcel Proust’s world-renowned novel, “In Search of Lost Time,” it was a little cookie called a madeleine that triggered a flood of memories when dipped into tea. The “Proustian madeleine” went on to become a meme for any sensory experience that triggers powerful recollections. For Avshi the stringed instruments of the “Violins of Hope” concerts are “madeleines” that represent the victory of the human spirit over evil and hatred. As many as 6 million Jews were murdered in WWII, but their memory is not forgotten. Wherever there is music, there is hope.
“Violins of Hope” is not only a memorial to a lost culture and people, it is also an educational act that reaches young students and adults wherever concerts are performed.
“Every concert brings together people of all faiths and backgrounds. Every project is accompanied by an extensive educational program. We visit schools and hold narrated concerts. We tell the history of some instruments – such as the violin which was thrown out of a cattle train on the way from France to Auschwitz; the violin that was buried under snow in Holland; the violin that saved the lives of people who played in a camp orchestra and survived. So many stories,” explained Avshi.
“Violins of Hope” concerts tend to draw people of all faiths and backgrounds. The performance by Avshi and his wife Sevil Ulucan Weinstein on Sunday, July 17, at Telluride’s Christ Church combines live music with brief stories about the instruments and the people who once played them.
“This concert will be unlike anything the TJC has ever brought to Telluride,” said Sari.
Her call-to-action evokes a trope attributed to philosopher and writer George Santayana who once said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
Amen…
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