Fragments of Time: The Violins of Hope

Whether it’s the recorded voices of WWII survivors in Steve Reich’s Different Trains, reimagined liturgical music in Yotam Haber’s work, or the stories behind the Holocaust-era instruments of Violins of Hope, bringing these fragments together invites reflection, connection, and quiet acts of remembrance across generations.

Different Trains, for string quartet and tape, was written by Steve Reich in 1988. During World War II, Reich made train journeys between New York and Los Angeles to visit his parents, who had separated. Years later, he pondered the fact that, as a Jew, had he been in Europe instead of the United States at that time, he might have had to ride on very “different trains”. The piece is is made up of three movements; America – Before the War, Europe – During the War, and After the War. In each part, a recording of a spoken phrase is introduced, and melodically taken up by single instruments. In the second movement, three Holocaust survivors speak about their experiences in Europe during the war, including their train trips to concentration camps. European train sounds and sirens are heard in this movement.

The composition is described by musicologist Richard Taruskin as "the only adequate musical response—one of the few adequate artistic responses in any medium—to the Holocaust” and credits the piece with earning Reich a place among the great composers of the 20th century.

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Global citizen Yotam Haber was born in the Netherlands and grew up in Israel, Nigeria, and Milwaukee, graduating from Nicolet High School in 1994. He is currently a professor of composition at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. In 2016 he was commissioned by the Kronos Quartet and Carnegie Hall for the 50 For the Future Project to write From the Book for string quartet and electronics. The piece is based on the litany Avinu Malkenu, continuing a cycle of pieces that take their launch point from archival recordings and transcriptions of music from the Italian Jewish community in the Piedmont region of Italy. Written for viola and piano, From the Book of Maintenance and Sustenance again quotes archival recordings from the Italian Jewish liturgical music, moving from screaming harmonics to quiet passages reminiscent of plainchant— a snapshot of a soul in flux, moving from life to the afterlife.

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Violins of Hope is private collection of violins, violas and cellos, all collected since the end of World War II. Many of the instruments belonged to Jews before and during the war. Many were donated by or bought from survivors; some arrived through family members and many simply carry Stars of David as decoration. Weaving a tapestry throughout our community, the Violins of Hope-Wisconsin residency will tell stories of instruments from the Holocaust, and the musicians who played them. As the Violins of Hope website says: “Remember me, remember us. Life is good, celebrate it for those who perished, for those who survived. For all people.”

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