Prince Albert II of Monaco Attends Hebrew University Concert Featuring 'Violins of Hope' Restored After Second World War

Tuesday, Jun 11, 2013

The Philarmonic Orchestra of Monte Carlo with with: (from left to right)

Yoram Cohen, Princess Caroline de Monaco, Prince Albert II, Smadar Eisenberg and Prof. Menahem Ben Sasson

Jerusalem, May 13, 2013 — Prince Albert II and Princess Caroline of Monaco were among 1,800 people who attended a special performance of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Monte Carlo, featuring "Violins of Hope" rescued and restored after the Second World War.

The concert took place on May 5 at Monaco’s Grimaldi Forum under the patronage of Prince Albert II. It featured musicians playing violins whose Jewish owners were murdered in the Holocaust. Discovered at the end of the Second World War, the violins were restored by Amnon Weinstein, an Israeli violin maker who for years has been collecting and restoring musical instruments belonging to Holocaust victims. The concert, which also featured Israeli violin virtuoso Shlomo Mintz, is based on a concept developed by Amnon Weinstein, Shlomo Mintz and Benny Boret.

The life stories of the instruments’ owners were recounted during the concert, along with other biographies of musicians who lived through the Holocaust, including that of Alma Rosé, a conductor of the Auschwitz women’s orchestra and niece to the composer Gustav Mahler. Also honored were Hans Krasa and Gideon Klein, Jewish musicians who continued to compose until their deaths at the hands of the Nazis.

The concert was initiated by the Hebrew University and organized by Smadar Eisenberg, president of the Friends of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Monte-Carlo association and a member of the Hebrew University’s Friends association in Monaco. It was attended by Hebrew University’s president, Prof. Menahem Ben Sasson. Funds raised will support environmental research and brain research at the Hebrew University’s Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences (ELSC).

Also in Monaco, Hebrew University brain scientists explored new developments in brain science at the 6th Brain Circle Meeting, “Recent Frontiers in Brain Sciences,” hosted by the European Friends of the Hebrew University. The conference raised funds for brain research at the Hebrew University’s Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences (ELSC).

During the Gala dinner at the Hotel de Paris