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Israel Philharmonic plays Warsaw Ghetto Uprising tribute

PR dla Zagranicy
Peter Gentle 18.04.2013 10:06
The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under Zubin Mehta gives a gala concert at Warsaw’s National Opera, Thursday night, as part of the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

Warsaw
Warsaw Ghetto burns, 1943: photo - Dom Spotkań z Historią.

In addition to Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony and the Violin Concerto (with Julian Rachlin as soloist), the programme of the concert includes the memorial prayer ‘El Male Rachamim’ (O God, full of mercy), with the cantor Yaakov Lemmer, and the partisans’ song ‘Getta Zog nil keynmol’ (Never say you are walking on your last road) sung by the National Opera Choir and actors of the Jewish Theatre in Warsaw.

At midnight members of the Israel Philharmonic will perform at the site of the former Jewish Ghetto, close to the newly-opened Museum of the History of Polish Jews.

The Israel Philharmonic’s previous visit to Warsaw was five years ago, for the 65th anniversary of the Ghetto Uprising.

The orchestra was founded in 1936 by the Polish-born violinist Bronisław Huberman, who provided 75 Jewish musicians with immigration documents and financed their move to Palestine, effectively saving them from certain death at the hands of the Nazis.

On Friday, the anniversary of the ghetto uprising, Krzysztof Penderecki will conduct Sinfonia Varsovia, one of Poland’s leading orchestras, in a concert in the Museum of the History of Polish Jews.

In addition to Penderecki’s Chaconne for strings, written in 2005 after the death of Pope John Paul II, the programme includes Max Bruch’s Kol Nidrei for cello and chamber orchestra, a series of variations on two themes of Jewish origin (Kol Nidrei is the prayer recited during the evening service of Yom Kipur).

On Sunday, Bruch’s piece will also be performed at a concert by the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra under Łukasz Borowicz at Polish Radio’s Witold Lutosławski Studio. (mk/pg)

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