The program will be available through August 31.
Beginning August 1, Music of Remembrance (MOR) will stream an all-new performance of Intonations: Songs from the Violins of Hope by composer Jake Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer. The performance was originally scheduled as part of live concerts at Seattle's Benaroya Hall and San Francisco's Presidio Theatre. Because of continuing pandemic restrictions, MOR instead created this compelling video production and will make it available around the world on its streaming platform.
Heggie and Scheer's powerful song cycle was inspired by the Violins of Hope, a private collection of lovingly restored string instruments that once belonged to Jews who played them before and during the Holocaust. Many were donated by or bought from survivors; some arrived through family members. Some belonged to professional musicians, and others to amateur players. These precious instruments can now sing again even though their former owners were silenced. Through words and music, the songs of Intonations relate the extraordinary voyages of the violins and their owners. "The violins bore witness to heartbreak and horrible atrocity," remarks artistic director Mina Miller, "and yet they represent belief in a future where music, life and beauty endure." Each of the instruments has its own story to tell, but together they call out to us: "We were played by proud people."Videos