Intonations: Songs from the Violins of Hope • Program Note
A 40-minute song cycle for mezzo-soprano, solo violin, string quartet and youth solo violin, this cycle was inspired by James Grymes' book Violins of Hope: Violins of the Holocaust - Instruments of Hope and Liberation in Mankind's Darkest Hour. Commissioned by Music at Kohl Mansion and made possible by a 2017 Hewlett 50 Arts Commissions Grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Violins of Hope presents instruments that were owned by Jewish musicians before and during the Holocaust, representing strength and optimism for the future during mankind’s darkest hour. They have been refurbished by luthiers Amnon and Avshalom Weinstein, founders of the Violins of Hope project. On the album, recorded live at Kohl Mansion, the instruments are used to perform two string quartet masterpieces by Schubert and Mendelssohn, alongside a new composition by Jake Heggie, inspired by the violins’ histories.
These two captivating works are performed by Kay Stern, Dawn Harms, Patricia Heller and Emil Miland, who join forces with mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke, violinist Daniel Hope and the young violin talent Sean Mori on Heggie’s Intonations: Songs of the Violins of Hope. The recording took place in the context of International Holocaust Remembrance Day 2020, commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Liberation.
In February of 2017, our friend Patricia Kristof Moy reached out to tell us about the Violins of Hope project. She explained the almost unimaginable history and journey of these 86 instruments, played by prisoners in concentration camps, restored over the past four decades in Tel Aviv by Amnon and Avshalom Weinstein. The collection had already been to major cities around the world. Patricia and Music at Kohl Mansion in Burlingame wanted to bring them to the West Coast in early 2020 for an extended, Bay Area-wide residency with orchestras, chamber groups, schools, community centers, religious organizations and more.Central to this ambitious project, Patricia wanted to commission us to create a new composition to be premiered as part of the 75th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz. We were floored. And we immediately said yes. The project was awarded a 2017 Hewlett 50 Arts Commissions Grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Shortly thereafter, the Cabrillo Festival asked for a fully orchestrated version of the piece for its distinguished 2020 Summer Festival.
The project presented us with a new opportunity: to tell stories of the instruments actually being played. The singers of the Holocaust are gone, but these instruments — 84 violins, 1 viola and 1 cello — still exist to sing, vibrate and intone. These are instruments that have been held by many hands and rested on many shoulders through generations; some have vibrated with music by revered composers, others were specifically Klezmer instruments. Violins of Hope. Fortunately, many of the instruments’ histories had been shared with the Weinsteins. Some of these stories are documented in James Grymes’ book Violins of Hope: Violins of the Holocaust. It was an invaluable resource.
We decided that our piece would be a dramatic song cycle with a solo violinist, a solo singer as the voice of the violin, and a quartet of the original instruments. Each song would intone, or tell, a story from the perspective of the violin itself. This way, we could use music and words to explore the physical and emotional journeys of the instruments. Gene read and researched the stories in the book and other sources, and found six he wanted to explore.
The first song, “Ashes,” is told from the perspective of one of the first violins Amnon Weinstein restored. When he removed the case, he discovered it was filled with human ashes. How could this happen? A journey ends and another begins.
In “Exile,” we have the perspective of the violin played by Erich Weininger. Exiled from Germany, on a ship, with Palestine at last in sight, Erich and the other refugees suddenly realized there was no more fuel for the furnace. The boat was listing and sinking. The call went out to use any and all wood on the ship to feed the furnace. Erich wondered if his beloved violin was just another piece of wood to feed the flames. Eight decades later, the violin still sings.
Prisoners were often forced to entertain Nazi officers in the camps. “Concert” tells the harrowing story of Henry Meyer when he was ordered to play a concert in the reverberant gas chamber, where family and friends were murdered every day. He apologizes to the violin and plays a waltz while an undertow of emotion pulls him down. But thanks to the violin and the music, he survives another day.
Motele Schlein was a child prodigy with a promising career when he and his family were imprisoned. After his family was murdered, he was randomly selected to entertain at the Nazi Officers Club. At 12 years old, he devised a plan to avenge his family. Week by week, he smuggled gunpowder in his violin case to create a bomb in the basement of the Officers Club. He set it on fire and ran to the woods to watch the explosion and witness the destruction. Through it all, he was never really alone. He always had his violin and music.
Feivel Wininger’s is a story of legacy through music. An older man, distraught from the losses of the war, gave his violin to Feivel so he could make a living with music. After the first wedding he played, Feivel was paid in loaves of bread and returned to give the old man half of what he had earned. The old man had taken his life. But Feivel went on to save many others, generations that now thrive thanks to the kindness of that old man, his violin and the music of hope.
The sixth section of Intonations is a Lament for string quartet. Here, the instruments sing a song without words.
The liberation of Auschwitz began on January 27, 1945. The final song is inspired by Paula Lebovic’s recollection of that day and the kindness she received from a Russian soldier. Her experience and the experience of millions of others who were sent to the camps is something that must not be forgotten.
May the voices of the millions who perished, distilled into the sound of these remarkable violins, remind us of the late Elie Wiesel’s words: “as we remember the past, we must remember to always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”
The premiere of the original chamber version of Intonations took place January 18, 2020 at Kohl Mansion in Burlingame with mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke, violinist Daniel Hope, youth violinist Sean Mori, and a quartet of instrumentalists from the San Francisco Opera Orchestra: Kay Stern, violin 1; Dawn Harms, violin 2; Patricia Heller, viola; and Emil Miland, cello.
Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Cabrillo Festival was unable to present its scheduled premiere of the fully orchestrated version in August 2020. So, for its 2021 season, the Festival has created a dazzling, special hybrid, filmed version directed by Elena Park and conducted by Cristian Măcelaru. This version features the great players of the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra performing sections of the orchestral score woven through the original chamber score. The soloists are mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke, violinist Benjamin Beilman, youth violinist Thais Chernyavski, and the St. Lawrence String Quartet.
Program Note provided by The Cabrillo Festival