Holocaust Memorial Day Concert

Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Benjamin Yusupov, conductor

Guest artists: Kristina Reiko Cooper and Maria Solozobova-Neuenschwander

Jerusalem Theatre

Rather than actual music from the Holocaust, this Holocaust Memorial Day Concert by the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra related in its seriousness of content and Jewish-Israeli focus. It demonstrated how contemporary classical music can be abstract and communicative without resorting to esoteric incoherence.

THE JERUSALEM Symphony Orchestra. (credit: David Winaker)
THE JERUSALEM Symphony Orchestra. (credit: David Winaker)
The program opened with a stirring reading of Beethoven’s Coriolan Overture to a drama about a Roman warrior who desisted from invading Rome at the pleading of his mother. It was followed by a heartfelt rendition of Mahler’s serene Adagietto from his Symphony No. 5. The crux of the program, however, were two original works by composers Uri Brener (1974, Russia-Israel) and Benjamin Yusupov (1962, Tajikistan-Israel).

A world premiere, Brener’s Heichal Hazikaron (Halls of Memory) cello concerto (2024) was written in memory of IDF soldiers who had fallen in defense of their homeland, as an artistic response to the Israel-Hamas War. Its three movements – From the Depths, Reflection and Struggle, and Inner-Outer Battles – draw upon the B-A-C-H motif as an organizing principle and expression of faith.

Opening on deep moaning sobs in the cello, followed by anguished solo pizzicato phrases, and then expressive speech-like bowed melodic gestures, it gradually transformed into a waltz-like rhythm and pace in the orchestra. These thematic elements evolved throughout the various movements in free-flowing dramatic contrast.

The performers

Clearly identifying with the work’s anguished message, cello soloist Kristina Reiko Cooper (USA-Israel) impressively projected its melodic asymmetry – as much with her formidable stage presence as with skillfully nuanced and chilling cries drawn from the cello. Both performer and composer of this recently written concerto received a well-deserved ovation at its close.

Yusupov’s Voices of Violin (2013), a masterful six-movement collage based on early music, Irish jigs, Indian ragas, Gypsy styles, groovy jazz (after Benny Goodman), and Romantic styles, is a virtuoso powerhouse for violin and orchestra.

Structurally, its various borrowed melodic formats (stylistically transformed by the composer) alternate solo passages with atmospherically colored string harmonies and luminous percussion, harp, piano, and wind responses in the orchestra, riveting our attention as to what is to come next.

Prize-winning violin soloist Maria Solozobova-Neuenschwander (Russia-Switzerland) was every bit up to its challenges. Her flamboyant virtuosity, racing up and down the fingerboard, captivated all and drew applause after each movement.

Throughout, the attentive players of the orchestra responded meticulously to Yusupov’s flamboyant baton. The warm audience ovation at the close of this Holocaust Memorial Day Concert attested to their enthusiastic appreciation of its content, creativity, and quality.