‘Violins of Hope’: Holocaust instruments to be played in weekend concerts
Some were displaced during the war. One was tossed from a cattle train en route from Paris to Auschwitz. Another survived Dachau.
These violins, long associated with the Holocaust, have been restored by father-and-son instrument makers Amnon and Avshalom Weinstein as part of their Violins of Hope project. The instruments will be celebrated, and played, this weekend in two concerts.
“I think it’s a symbol of resilience and overcoming and how art can just carry through the incredible adversity that humanity encountered — and is still encountering as we speak,” Taras Krysa says.
The conductor and founder of the Las Vegas Sinfonietta will lead a string quartet, performing works by Jewish composers on some of those violins, in an intimate fundraising concert. A VIP cocktail hour will offer a chance to see the violins up close. The cocktail hour is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Saturday, with the concert at 7 p.m., at The Industrial Event Space, 2330 Industrial Road.
Tickets start at $50 for the concert and $150 for the concert and reception. Proceeds will benefit the programs and services offered by the Jewish Family Service Agency. For more information, see jfsalv.org.
The Violins of Hope also will be played the next day throughout the concert that opens the Las Vegas Sinfonietta’s fifth season.
The performance will include works written inside concentration camps. Ukrainian composer Zoltan Almashi’s “City of Maria,” written about the Russian army’s destruction of the city of Mariupol, also will be featured.
“Of course,” the Ukrainian-born Krysa says, “having those violins will give an extra emotional context, I believe, for audiences and the performers.”
It promises to be an afternoon of somber music, tailored to the occasion by a group that’s known for its serious works.
“It’s less of entertainment. This is more of a fine art,” Krysa says of his musical choices. “And I think that’s what distinguishes us from other groups.”
The Violins of Hope concert is scheduled for 3 p.m. Sunday at the Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road. Tickets start at $40. For more information on this and the rest of the group’s season, see lasvegassinfonietta.com.
Contact Christopher Lawrence at clawrence@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4567. Follow @life_onthecouch on Twitter.