The Violins of Hope () is a collection of Holocaust-related string instruments in Tel Aviv, Israel. The instruments serve to educate and memorialize the lives of prisoners in concentration camps through concerts, exhibitions and other projects. The collection is owned by father and son team Amnon and Avshalom Weinstein, who are both violin makers.
Concerts and exhibitions In the first decade of the new millennium, Weinstein started to use the instruments of the Violins of Hope collection to initiate concerts combined with educational events teaching about the Holocaust.
YearLocation and Musicians2008Jerusalem, Israel: Symphonette Orchestra and the Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra with Shlomo MintzRabinovitch, Ari "Jerusalem concert features violins saved from Nazis", Reuters.com, 24.09.20082010Switzerland, SION International Music Festival. Exhibition of selected instruments and concert with Shlomo MintzStephens, Thomas "Violins of Hope keep Holocaust memory alive", swissinfo.ch, 03.09.20102011Madrid, Spain, concert on occasion of International Remembrance Day with Shlomo Mintz, Cihat Askin, Hillel Zori, Sander Sittig, Enrique Perez and Emilio Navidad"VoH - Madrid, January 27, 2011",youtube.com, 04.12.2011 Maastricht, Netherlands: concert with Amati Ensemble and photo exhibition"Amati Tefaf concert" , amati-ensemble.nl, 24.03.20112012Charlotte, North Carolina: extensive program at the UNC Charlotte with concerts, exhibition, film screenings et al.Garfield, Ken "Violins of Hope: Notes from the Holocaust", Charlotte Magazine, 20.02.20122013Monaco: Philharmonic Orchestra of Monte Carlo, conducted by Gianluigi Gelmetti, with Schlomo Mintz"Violins of Hope at the Grimaldi Forum", Monte Carlo SBM, May 20132014Rome, Italy Villa Musica, Neuwied: Exhibition and concerts with Gil Sharon and Elina Gurewitz"Eine Stimme verleihen", Blick Aktuell, 25.09.2014"Violins of Hope bei Villa Musica", youtube.com, 14.11.20142015Berlin, Germany: Exhibition and concert with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Simon Rattle"Violins of Hope: an exhibition and the Berlin Philharmonie", The Strad, 27.01.2015 Cleveland, Ohio: Exhibitions and concert with members of the Cleveland Orchestra, ongoing projectZaleski, Anne "Violins of Hope: See Fully-Restored Holocaust-Era Violins on Display and in Concert only in Cleveland" , Thisiscleveland.com, 25.09.2015 2016Monterrey, Mexico: Concert with Esperanza Azteca Orchestra, conducted by Yoel Levi with Shlomo Mintz and Cihat Askin"The Violin of Shlomo Mintz in México", Belén Alonso Management, 14.02.2016
Houston, TexasElliot, Amber "Holocaust Museum marks 20 years, pays tribute to the Bielski brothers", Houston Chronicle, 10.06.20162017Jacksonville, Florida: concert with members of the Jacksonville Symphony, part of a month long Anne Frank exhibit"Jacksonville Symphony to present Violins of Hope concert", Ponte Vedra Recorder, 08.12.2016 Sarasota, Florida: concert and exhibitionKipling, Kay "Violins of Hope comes to the Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee", Sarasota Magazine, 26.01.2017
London, England: concert and fundraiser
Washington, DC, Library of Congress"Violins of Hope", The Library of Congress webcast
Bucharest, Romania: concert with, among others, Gil Sharon and Hillel ZoriButu, Alina Grigoras "Violins of Hope heated up the Romanian Athenaeum's stage to mark Israel's 69th anniversary" , The Romania Journal, 26.04.2017 2018Cincinnati, Ohio: The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Louis Langrée; The Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra conducted by Eckart PreuZipperstein, Leah "Violins that survived the Holocaust have come to Cincinnati for a One-Night Only concert", Cincinnati Refined, 21.01.2018 Dachau, Germany
Nashville, Tennessee: Exhibition and concertBliss, Jessica "Violins of Hope: Master luthiers, father and son, restore instruments played during The Holocaust", Tennessean, 13.04.2018
Dresden, GermanyRögner, Katharina "Geigen gegen das Vergessen", Jüdische Allgemeine, 7.11.2018
Dortmund, GermanyElling, Elisabeth "Geigen von Holocaust-Opfern im Konzerthaus Dortmund: Violins of Hope" , Wa.de, 12.11.20182019Knoxville, Tennessee: Exhibit and concert with Knoxville Symphony OrchestraMcRary, Amy "Violins of Hope exhibit: When a musical instrument is more than its sound", knox news, 09.01.2019
Phoenix, Arizona: Exhibits and concert February through MarchBlomquist, Mala "The Valley's connection to the Violins of Hope", Arizona Jewish Life, 31.01.2019
Auschwitz, Poland: musical interludes were performed on selected instruments during the opening ceremony for the exhibition "Through the Lens of Faith"Davis, Barry "Auschwitz Exhibit shows how Prisoners used Faith to Survive", The Jerusalem Post, 04.07.20192021Richmond, Virginia: Exhibits and concert with the Richmond Symphony Reading, Pennsylvania: Exhibits and concerts with Reading Symphony Orchestra and local colleges2022Portland, Maine: Exhibits and concerts with the Portland Symphony Orchestra2023New Orleans, Louisiana: Exhibits and concerts with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra and the National World War II Museum.
See also List of Holocaust memorials and museums List of music museums
References
Further reading Dutlinger, Anne D. (2001). Art, Music and Education as Strategies for Survival: Theresienstadt 1941-1945, Herodias. Gilbert, Shirli. Music in the Holocaust: Confronting Life in the Nazi Ghettos and Camps, Oxford University Press. Grymes, James A. (2014). Violins of Hope - Violins of the Holocaust - Instruments of Hope and Liberation in Mankind's Darkest Hours, Harper Perennial. Karas, Joza (1985). Music in Terezin 1941-1945, Beaufort Books. Laks, Szyman (2000). Music of Another World (Jewish Lives), Northwestern University Press. Newman, Richard; Kirtley, Karen (2003). Alma Rose: Vienna to Auschwitz, Amadeus Press.
External links Violins of Hope Music and the Holocaust