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Niv Ashkenazi

Violins of Hope

Albany Records

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Centre for Holocaust Education and Scholarship
1 Serenade  
2 Baal Shem, B. 47: II. Nigun  
3 Theme from Schindler's List (Arr. for Violin and Piano)  
4 The Chassid  
5 Bestemming : IV. Triumph (Arr. for Violin and Piano)  
6 Trois pieces de concert: I. Prelude varie - Allegretto ma deciso  
7 II. Romance - Andante con moto  
8 III. Mouvement perpetuel - Allegro vivace  
9 Dance of the Rebbitzen  
10 Berceuse Sfaradite  
11 Deux melodies hebraques: I. Kaddisch  
12 Three Songs Without Words: I. Arioso (Arr. for Violin and Piano)  
13 II. Ballad (Arr. for Violin and Piano)  
14 III. Sephardic Melody (Arr. for Violin and Piano)  
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Violins of Hope is an artistic and educational project composed of instruments that were owned by Jewish musicians before and during the Holocaust. Violins in the collection were played in the concentration camps and ghettos, providing a source of comfort for some and a means of survival for others. The project was founded by Amnon Weinstein and his son Avshalom, Israeli luthiers who collect these instruments, refurbish them to concert quality, and bring them to communities all over the world, so that their voices can be heard again. The Violins of Hope have traveled to Jerusalem, Sion, Madrid, Maastricht, Monaco, Rome, Berlin, London, Bucharest, Dachau, Dresden, and Auschwitz. In the United States, the project has been presented in Charlotte, Cleveland, Houston, Jacksonville, Sarasota, Washington, D.C, Cincinnati, Nashville, Birmingham, Knoxville, Phoenix, Louisville, Fort Wayne, and San Francisco.

Niv Ashkenazi: Violins of Hope is the first solo album to be recorded on one of these instruments. Niv Ashkenazi is the only violinist in the world to hold an instrument from the Violins of Hope collection on a long-term loan, and this album was conceived as a way to create a lasting record of the voice of that violin. Ashkenazi is joined on the album by his fellow Juilliard graduate, pianist Matthew Graybil, and the duo first worked together on the project at various ‘Violins of Hope' events in Sarasota Florida in 2017. The Weinstein family commented; "Niv is the only violinist we trust absolutely to bring out the sounds of long gone horrors, with an honest sound and much love for this music and our legacy."

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