Daniel Hope “Does Something” in Berlin on Nov 9
BERLIN, GERMANY, November 6, 2008 – Berlin’s historic Tempelhof
Airport will be used for the first time as a concert hall and
multi-genre arts venue on Sunday, November 9, when British violinist
Daniel Hope, with the support of some of Germany’s most prominent
political figures, is joined by fellow classical, rock, and jazz
musicians and other special guests for “Tu Was!” – the German term
meaning “Do something!” – a special event commemorating the 70th
anniversary of Kristallnacht.
Hope conceived “Tu was!”,
a collage of music, words, pictures, and video installations, after
being inspired by Sir Martin Gilbert’s book Kristallnacht: Prelude to Destruction,
a collection of personal reminiscences of the so-called
“Reichskristallnacht” of November 9, 1938. On that night members of the
Nazi SA, joined by citizens in an orgy of violence, attacked and
damaged or destroyed thousands of Jewish businesses, houses of worship,
and dwellings in Germany and Austria. More than 30,000 male Jews were
deported to concentration camps in the next days, under the eyes of
their fellow citizens, the world, and the international press,
permitting the continuation of the Nazi reign of terror that culminated
in the “final solution”.
Daniel Hope comments:
Until
I read Gilbert’s book the historical consequences of that night’s
events weren’t entirely clear to me. “Reichskristallnacht” took place
70 years ago and yet its consequences are still reflected in today’s
society. Situations that require civil courage, individual or
collective, continue to arise – whether it’s an individual attack on a
defenseless fellow human being or the brutality of groups. Remembering
the 1938 pogroms is a much-needed symbolic action in our society. It’s
a call to all civilized people never again to ignore unacceptable
violence and through inaction to allow it to continue.
For Hope, whose family was forced to flee Berlin and the Nazis, the
event has urgent political importance as well as obvious personal
significance. Throughout his career, Hope has advocated – both in live
performance and with recordings – the music of composers the Nazis
deemed “degenerate” and whose music was forbidden in Nazi-controlled
Europe.
Hope not only raised the money to make this
project happen, but persuaded leading political figures to support it.
“Tu was!” now has the backing of the Foreign Minister of the German
Federal Republic, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, as well as the Mayor of
Berlin, Klaus Wowereit, and his Cultural Minister, André Schmitz. The
Jewish community of Berlin and its Chair, Ms. Lala Süsskind, have also
pledged their help and support, along with many other individuals and
companies.
The proceeds from the evening will be
donated to the Freya von Moltke Foundation. Ms. von Moltke, now 97, was
a participant in the Kreisau Circle, the anti-Nazi resistance group
co-founded by her husband, Helmuth James Graf von Moltke. During World
War II, her husband acted to subvert German human-rights abuses in
territories occupied by Germany. With the Kreisau Circle, he discussed
the future of a Germany founded on moral and democratic principles,
such as could develop after Hitler, and was subsequently executed for
treason by the Nazi government. Daniel Hope’s great aunt, Marlene
Maertens, worked closely with Freya von Moltke after the war helping
refugees who had been forced to flee Germany.
Daniel Hope discusses the concert in an interview with Shirley Apthorp published by Bloomberg News: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=alCeKhvEAjpk
Event Details:
The Place:
Although Berlin’s Tempelhof Airport had an important place in the plans
of architect Albert Speer’s reconstruction of Berlin during the Nazi
era, it is symbolically even more important because of its central role
in the so-called “Luftbrücke”, the Berlin Airlift. Standing for civil
courage in Berlin, courageous Allied pilots flew into Tempelhof,
dropping packages of food and supplies when the Soviet Union had closed
off all western access to Berlin during one of the first crises of the
Cold War, between June 1948 and May 1949.
The Artists:
Hope has brought together artists and friends from many disciplines for
“Tu Was!” Classical, jazz, cabaret, and rock musicians, literary
figures, and other artists will participate, including Klaus Maria
Brandauer, Till Brönner, Hélène Grimaud, Max Raabe, Thomas Quasthoff,
Sol Gabetta, and the reggae artist Patrice. Among the important
participants is Menahem Pressler, pianist of the legendary Beaux Arts
Trio, who invited Daniel Hope to join as its youngest member, and who –
as a Jewish musician living in Magdeburg – directly experienced
Reichskristallnacht and its aftermath.
The Performances: Menahem Pressler and Daniel Hope will play music by “Entartete” composers; Klaus Maria Brandauer will read from Kristallnacht: Prelude to Destruction
and other works; Max Raabe will present music from Berlin in the
Thirties in his inimitable style; rock musicians will give us the here
and now; and all will be joining in making a statement against violence
and in favor of civil courage today. These multifaceted perspectives
will underline the message of the evening: “Tu was!” – “Do something”.
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CONTACT: Glenn Petry, 21C Media Group, Inc. [email protected] (212) 625-2038