Moses Znaimer and The New Classical FM are inviting you to a free concert event on January 23. GRAFENECK 10654 Ode to Memory & Hope features the Trio Grafeneck in a multimedia concert to commemorate the Holocaust.
Most people are familiar with the fact that six million Jews were victims of Nazi oppression and brutality. What many may not realize is that the Holocaust claimed millions of other victims, including the disabled, who also found themselves outside the Nazi model of “the ideal race”.
The story of Castle Grafeneck
Castle Grafeneck was constructed in around 1560, and during the Renaissance, it was the hunting lodge of the Dukes of Württemberg. The local Forest Service took over the castle in the19th century, and it was acquired by a charity in 1928, which converted the building to an asylum for the disabled.
Under the Nazi regime, between 1939 and 1940, the former Samaritan Hospital was repurposed into a horrific killing station, where the Nazis experimented with euthanasia by poisoning with Aktion T4.
Shockingly, 10,654 people with physical and cognitive disabilities were killed in what became the first industrial gas chamber.
The Concert
The music and concert experience is designed not only to commemorate the liberation of the survivors of the Holocaust, but to pay homage to its victims. The program for Grafeneck 10654 consists of compositions by violinist Helmut Lipsky and Swiss composer Thomas Fortmann.
The music references Beethoven’s Ode to Joy from the 9th Symphony, transformed by violinist Helmut Lipinsky into a requiem for all the victims of genocides throughout history. The concert concludes with Thomas Fortmann’s composition Grafeneck 1940, which engages directly with the events at Castle Grafeneck.
German artist Jochen Meyder was asked to create a commemorative work for the work’s premiere in Germany. He responded with a series of 10,654 sculptures in terracotta, which is now exhibited at the Grafeneck Memorial Center. Projections will display his work at the concert.
Trio Grafeneck
Trio Grafeneck consists of Helmut Lipsky, violin, Louise Bessette, piano, and Olivier Maranda, percussion.
Violinist Helmut Lipsky
Helmut has lived in Montréal since 1980. A native of Germany, he grew up in Switzerland, and studied violin with Itzhak Perlman in New York City. He’s an active chamber musician in the worlds of classical, jazz, crossover and contemporary music.
Pianist Louise Bessette
Louise Bessette is a concert pianist with an international profile. Along with her performance work, she has an extensive catalogue of recordings, including works for solo piano as well as chamber music by Messiaen, Elliott Carter, Charles Ives, Gubaidulina, Schnittke and Serge Arcuri, among others. Among other awards and recognition, she is the recipient of a Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for her Lifetime Artistic Achievement.
Percussionist Olivier Maranda
Olivier Maranda is a founding member of the Chorum and Allogène ensembles, and also plays with ECM and Codes d’Accès. He earned Premiere Prix in both percussion and chamber music at the Montréal Conservatory. His musical practice focuses on improvisation and new music.
Details
- Date: Tuesday, January 23, 2024
- Place: THE ZOOMERPLEX (70 Jefferson Avenue)
- Arrival: 5 p.m., with free pre-concert catered reception by Urban Fare
- Concert: 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.
RSVP for this free concert [HERE].
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