More than 60 violins found and restored by father-and-son team Amnon and Avshalom Weinstein will be exhibited and played in concerts in Richmond, Virginia with events until 24 October
After being silenced for more than 70 years, violins owned by Jewish musicians during the Holocaust will be showcased and played again.
Violins of Hope Richmond will exhibit a collection of violins that have survived the Holocaust, having been located and restored by Israeli violin maker Amnon Weinstein and his son Avashalom. More than 60 violins from the collection will be shown in three locations in Richmond, Virginia: the Virginia Holocaust Museum, the Virginia Museum of History and Culture and the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia.
Concerts, lectures and educational programmes will run alongside the exhibition so that audiences have the opportunity to hear the violins. Samuel Asher, executive director of the Virginia Holocaust Museum stated the importance of the educational events, ’If people understand more about the causes and consequences of the Holocaust, they will be less likely to join hate groups or support anti-Semitism in our society. Through chamber concerts, educational programmes and other activities that are planned during the 12 weeks of the exhibit, Violins of Hope Richmond will serve as a powerful instrument for learning about a time of great despair and the redemption that resulted from giving new life to these violins.’
Concerts by the Richmond Symphony will take place on 9 and 10 September featuring some of the collection’s violins played by members of the orchestra.
Violins of Hope was initiated by Amnon Weinstein, a Tel-Aviv based violin maker, upon learning that 400 of his relatives had died in the Holocaust as a way to reclaim his lost heritage, give a voice to the victims and reinforce positive messages of hope and harmony. Together with his son Avshalom, they have located and restored violins from around the world and brought the collection to several US cities.
Read: Daniel Hope, Kay Stern, Dawn Harms, Sean Mori: Violins of Hope
Read: Two events held as part of the Violins of Hope Exhibition
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