Viloins Of Hope Concert

On Thursday, September 9th Violins of Hope Richmond, in partnership with the Richmond Symphony, will host a Feature Concert to be held at Richmond’s Cathedral of the Sacred Heart. Virginia Holocaust Museum, the Virginia Museum of History & Culture, and the Black History Museum & Cultural Center of Virginia, joined by special guest Avshi Weinstein, Israeli violin maker and son of Israeli violin craftsman Amnon Weinstein, invite guests to come and hear the music that honors the musicians, the people, and the stories of the Holocaust.

The Richmond Symphony is deeply honored to be a part of the Violins of Hope exhibition through dedication to our mission of changing lives through the power of music. As we bring the individual voices, tones, and timbres of these historic violins to life, the Richmond Symphony’s concerts will ultimately resonate with the times and places of their origin. In this way, the stories - and prayers, as respected violin maker Amnon Weinstein says - of their owners will be kept alive.

Inside the embrace of atmospheric string music by Schubert and Mahler, the program brings us musical gifts of those musicians who created it from inside the concentration camps. Their self-expression through music is the medium that we have to connect us to their experience of that horrific time. Pavel Haas's Study for Strings was written in 1943 in the concentration camp of Terezin. Also written in Terezin at the same time was Gideon Klein's Lullaby. The Lullaby tune itself was already in existence and Klein reimagined it with great care - leading us to wonder if it was a coded message or simply preparation for a concert from which it was hoped freedom would come. Ilse Weber was a Czech author and songwriter - her Wiegala was written somewhere between 1942 and 1944 in Theresienstadt concentration camp. All three artists perished in Auschwitz.

Amnon Weinstein has spent the last two decades locating and restoring violins that were played by Jewish musicians during the Holocaust. He dedicates this important work to 400 relatives he never knew. These grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins stayed behind in Eastern Europe when Amnon’s parents, Moshe and Golda, immigrated in 1938 to Palestine, where Moshe opened a violin shop.

After the war, Moshe learned that his entire family —400 in all—had been murdered during the Holocaust. The pain of this discovery led to his first heart attack. Moshe never spoke of his family again.

When young Amnon would ask Golda about their relatives, she would show him a book about the Holocaust. Pointing to the ghastly photos of the dead, she would say, “This is our family.”

She would break down in tears, unable to explain further.

After growing up to become one of the most respected violin makers in the world, Amnon became determined to reclaim his lost heritage. He started locating violins that were played by Jews in the camps and ghettos, painstakingly piecing them back together so they could be brought to life again on the concert stage. Although most of the musicians who originally played the instruments were silenced by the Holocaust, their voices and spirits live on through the violins that Amnon has lovingly restored.

He calls these instruments the Violins of Hope.

To learn more about the exhibit, the history of Violins of Hope, our partners and other events, please visit violinsofhopeRVA.com

Please note:

• Tickets will not be available at the door and should be pre-purchased below for this performance.
• This concert will take place at Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, located at 823 Cathedral Place, Richmond, Virginia 23220, and NOT the VMHC.
• Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. and there is no reserved seating.
• For wheelchair accessible seating or ADA needs, please contact info@violinsofhopeRVA.com
• Masks are not required for those fully vaccinated, but for those individuals who are NOT fully vaccinated a face covering is required. This is subject to change in accordance with CDC, state, and federal guidelines.
• Parking will be available at the VCU West Main Street parking deck, Main Street, accessible on S. Laurel and S. Cherry Street.
• Please contact info@violinsofhopeRVA.com for questions