About "Violins of Hope"
Violins of Hope is a project of concerts based on a private collection of violins, violas and cellos, all collected since the end of World War 2. Many of the instruments belonged to Jews before and during the war. Many were donated by or bought from survivors themselves while some arrived through family members.
While the origins of these instruments are not always clear, they are symbols of Klezmer and other Jewish traditions that were all but completely destroyed during the Holocaust. And all the Instruments have a common denominator as symbols of hope 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.
Violin-makers Amnon and Avshalom Weinstein, father and son who work in Tel Aviv and Istanbul, own this collection. They dedicate their expertise and endless love to ensure that these instruments, most of which were rather cheap and unsophisticated, get a new and beautiful makeover which includes a fantastic sound worthy of the best musicians and concert halls.
The Nazis used music and especially violins to humiliate and degrade Jews in ghettos and camps. They confiscated many thousands of instruments from Jews all over Europe. Our concerts are the ultimate answer to their plan to annihilate a people and their culture, to destroy human lives and freedom.
The sound of violins is often compared to the beauty of the human voice. When played with talent and spirit, It is known to reach out and touch hearts. This was the role of violins in the war – to touch hearts, kindle hope for better times and spread it around. Wherever there was music, there was hope.
Our violins represent the victory of the human spirit over evil and hatred. As many as 6 million Jews were murdered in WW2, but their memory is not forgotten. It comes back to life with every concert and every act of love and celebration of the human spirit.
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 our concerts are performed. In recent years some of the most world-renowned orchestras have held Violins of Hope concerts, including the Berlin Philharmonic, the Cleveland Symphony and many others.
Every concert brings together people of all faiths and backgrounds. 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 much history, so many sounds, so much memory!
