Papal Concert to Commemorate the Shoah

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The Papal Concert to Commemorate the

Krakow Philharmonic, in December 1987.[1] Pope John Paul II, Rav Elio Toaff, the Chief Rabbi of Italy, and Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, President of Italy jointly presided over the event,[2] and viewed it from positions of equal honor.[3]

Event and program

The event was attended by 7,500 invited guests, including several hundred survivors of the Holocaust, from around the world. The six candle Holocaust candelabra was lit in the concert hall by six survivors and their descendants. One of these was Margit Raab Kalina, Maestro Levine's mother-in-law,

Auschwitz-Birkenau, and Bergen-Belsen.[5] The candelabra burned throughout the performance to demonstrate, as the Pope stated in his discourse at the end of the concert that, "The walls of this hall have no limits. The victims: fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters and friends, are here with you, they are with us. They will never be forgotten." As the Pope also stated: It was like a night of "common meditation and shared prayer" in the Vatican.[6]

The program included

Beethoven Symphony 9 in D Minor, Op. 125, Movement 3 "Adagio molto e cantabile."[2]
The concert and the recording were produced by Randall Jamail and released by Justice Record Co.

Selection of orchestra

Owing to Prague's long history of flourishing Jewish culture, and the terrible toll on that population during the Holocaust, the concert had been envisioned, at first, as a concert with the Czech Philharmonic. When it was proposed however, Gerd Albrecht, that orchestra's principal conductor, refused to allow the group to participate. This sparked a national outrage, including a denunciation of Albrecht's decision by the President of the Czech Republic and famed human rights leader, Václav Havel.[7] Albrecht prevailed in the short term, and the Czech Philharmonic did not perform at the concert in April 1994. Even after the concert, the Czech Philharmonic controversy endured, and Albrecht was forced to resign his position as principal conductor in 1996.[8]

Following Albrecht's decision to block the participation of the Czech Philharmonic, the

Saint Peter's Basilica and the Chorus of the Accademia Filarmonica Romana
.

Legacy

The concert is considered, along with the first-ever Papal visit to a synagogue, the

New York Times reported that in light of the concert, "[s]ome Jews said the Pope had revived the revolution in Catholic-Jewish relations set in motion by Pope John XXIII and the Second Vatican Council."[9]

The concert was broadcast in Italy by

Time-Warner
company. The event was reported on worldwide, in print, on radio, and on television.

For his contributions in creating and conducting this event, Gilbert Levine, was invested at the direct gift of the Pontiff as a Knight-Commander of the

Pontifical Knighthood
accorded an American Jew in the history of the Vatican.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Concert To Remember Holocaust Is Olive Branch From Pope To Jews".
  2. ^ a b "Pope John Paul Attends First Vatican Concert That Memorializes Holocaust".
  3. ^ http://www.holocaustchronicle.org/StaticPages/HolocaustScans/HiRes/1947/19470008000113 [bare URL image file]
  4. ^ "The Polish Pope's Maestro: An Interview with Sir Gilbert Levine".
  5. ^ Raab Kalina, Margit. Surviving a Thousand Deaths (1939-1945) in Stolen Youth: Five Women's Survival in the Holocaust. Yad Vashem & Holocaust Survivors Memoirs Project, 2005.
  6. ^ "Discorso di Giovanni Paolo II al Termine del Concerto Eseguito in Commemorazione della "Shoah" Ebraica".
  7. ^ "Conductor Says We've No Time For the Pope".
  8. ^ Levy, Alan (Jan 31, 1996). "Storm at Czech Philharmonic". The New York Times. Retrieved Apr 29, 2020.
  9. ^ Tagliabue, John (8 April 1994). "Holocaust Lamentations Echo at Vatican". The New York Times.
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