Kindertransport concert to mark Kristallnacht anniversary
Internationally-acclaimed composer and conductor Carl Davis had been emotionally affected by the Kindertransport ever since his wife, actress Jean Boht, appeared in Diane Samuels’ iconic play on the subject in 1996.
The topic stayed with him, so much so that when he was commissioned to write a choral piece for the Hallé Orchestra’s children’s choir in 2012, he chose it as his theme – creating the song-cycle The Last Train to Tomorrow.
“The inspiration was architectural,” he explains. “The choir stalls in a conventional concert hall have the rectangular dimensions of a railway carriage and in my imagination I filled it with children gazing out at the audience as though looking at the passing landscape.
The combination of a large children’s choir and a train journey led me to the Kindertransport.” The London premiere, which is presented by The Association of Jewish Refugees on 9 November, will begin with a dedication to mark the anniversary of Kristallnacht.
The special one-off event – which will be attended by a VVIP and introduced by Natasha Kaplinsky – will also feature a performance of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto and the Mozart Overture by City of London Sinfonia and a young soloist violinist from the Yehudi Menuhin School.
Nearly 10,000 children, aged between three and 17, fled Nazi- controlled Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia and came to Britain on the Kindertransport, which was established following the events of Kristallnacht in November 1938 and the start of the Second World War. Most never saw their parents again. Samuels’ play had a profound effect on Boht and Davis, who is Jewish and from New York.
He says: “As I attended many previews and subsequent performances, I felt I heard an inner voice saying there was something for me in this subject.
“It was the Hallé commission that provided the stimulus for this particular treatment. I decided to limit this telling of the story to the journey itself, but have the children recall the events that led to their being on the train.”
The song cycle consists of a series of poems moving the action forward and features spoken as well as song parts, which will be performed by the Finchley Children’s Music Group and told from the children’s point of view. Davis believes the Kindertransport is a great episode in English tolerance and open-heartedness.
“The persecution of minorities and displacement of entire populations is with us every day,” he explains. “The story of the Kindertransport shows us it is possible to help. And it is through the constant retelling … that the message is put across.”
• Last Train To Tomorrow is on at The Roundhouse, Chalk Farm, on 9 November. To book tickets, visit http://www.roundhouse.org.uk/whats-on/2014/last-train-to-tomorrow/ and The Association of Jewish Refugees www.ajr.org.uk
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
