The Jewish Federation of the Quad Cities and the Figge Art Museum co-host this concert in honor of a collection of 90 stringed instruments restored and curated by Violins of Hope, an organization started by father/son duo Amnon and Avshalom Weinstein. Their intent is to preserve instruments associated with World War II and the Holocaust and/or which harken to a time when Jewish populations were thriving in Europe before the war. Some of these instruments were, of course, played in unspeakable conditions. Some of them traveled with their owners out of ghettos and concentration camps to safety in Palestine (now Israel) and elsewhere. All are lovingly stewarded now by Avshi after Amnon’s passing.

The amazing Dimitri Malignan and I are joined by the wonderful violist Deanna Petre for an evening honoring Violins of Hope. We feature music which would have been played in the ghettos and concentration camps—Mozart, Brahms, Puccini, Schumann—music that was suppressed—Mendelssohn, Mandyczewski, Chopin—and music by composers who were persecuted in World War II and the Holocaust—Dick Kattenburg, Vítězslava Kaprálová, Hans Gál, Simon Laks. We are honored to bring this concert to the stage.