Last night, we welcomed violinist Elaine Patience and her pianist friend Gill Townsend to play a concert for our community. There was a particular focus on the central instrument, known as “the Auschwitz violin”.The violin was made in Dresden in the 1880s and its first owner took it to St Petersburg, where he taught the Tsar’s daughters. The 1917 Revolution meant he and his family had to flee Russia and, after a ten month overland trek, they caught the last refugee boat from Odessa to England, where they settled in Leeds. His daughter, Rosa, became an accomplished violinist and, in the mid-1930s, accepted an invitation to join the Berlin Philharmonic. She was imprisoned by the Nazis in 1938 and survived three concentration camps. That included a long stint at Auschwitz, where she played the violin in the camp orchestra. She lived to testify at the Nuremberg trials before passing the violin to her brother. He played it over the next decades, then passed it to his daughter. Many years later, she took it from her attic and presented it for restoration on the BBC’s Repair Shop programme (2018).
Since then, it has been played in many places to present the story. Elaine has been honoured to do that in recent years and has taken it to many places, including back to Auschwitz for a memorial event. Last night she played a selection of pieces from Schindler’s List, music by Ernest Bloch and other poignant tunes. It was a testament to the enduring power of music to bear witness, to remember, and to inspire and we were glad to welcome many friends and neighbours to this memorable event.