Bronisław Huberman – A Genius of the Escapee Orchestra
One of the greatest violinists of the 20th century, he performed before Mahler, Brahms and Strauss. He is dubbed the ‘Oscar Schindler of the music world’, as he saved many Jewish artists and their families from the Holocaust.
The child prodigy and his Stradivariuses
His father, Jankiel Huberman, was the first person to notice Bronisław’s good ear. He could not fulfil his own passion for music (he works as a clerk and an attorney’s helper) so he decides to educate his son. The child turns out to be very capable indeed. His talent is noticed by other professional musicians and Bronisław starts touring as a child prodigy.
When he is 10 years old, he receives a stipend which allows him to study in Berlin under Joseph Joachim, a prominent teacher. To pay for their son’s education, Bronisław’s parents have to sell some of their furniture. The investment pays off: after one year of classes Bronisław goes on tour and presents his talents before German, Belgian, Dutch, French and English audiences.
Count Jan Zamoyski is delighted with the boy and presents him with a 1773 Stradivarius violin. He tours with it with success until 1911 when it turns out that the violin is a counterfeit. However, he is already one of the most prominent artists in the world so he can afford his own instrument.
Huberman performs in front of many great composers. One of the biggest concerts in his life is the 1896 Berlin performance: he plays the Violin Concerto in D major by Johannes Brahms in front of the composer. Brahms is ravished. Huberman’s fame grows which allows him to play on more and more marvellous instruments. In 1903 he plays on a Stradivarius which a few centuries previously belonged to Niccolò Paganini.
The Great War and Pan-Europa
Berlin. The scheduled concert is called off: World War I has broken out. Huberman goes to prison as a potential enemy of the German Empire. He is released almost immediately thanks to Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia, a fan of the Polish-Jewish violinist’s talent.
The tragedy of the Great War makes him cognisant of the processes going on in the world. He becomes more interested in politics and social issues and decides to further educate himself. Apart from musical activity, he now studies at the Sorbonne. Here he meets activists from the International Paneuropean Union, an organisation which aims to create a union of European countries, from Poland to Portugal, connected by a shared economy. Due to his activity in the Union, he meets Sigmund Freud and Albert Einstein among others.
An orchestra of outcasts
In 1929 and 1931 he tours the British Mandate for Palestine. He is thrilled by the spontaneous reactions he receives from the audience and by listeners from all walks of life. He is irritated by the fact that not everyone can afford his concert and sets up additional, less expensive performances dedicated for the working class audience. The visit in Palestine transforms his worldview. He no longer criticises Zionistic ideas.
To protest against increasing antisemitism in Europe, in 1932 he moves to Switzerland and will never perform in Germany again. He publishes a letter titled To German Intellectualists in The Manchester Guardian newspaper. He plans to organise a Jewish orchestra in Palestine.
To do that, he travels around Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Poland in search of Jewish musicians. Because of the Nuremberg Laws, hundreds of artists wander around in search of a new job. Any Jewish musician can apply for the orchestra. In the National Philharmonic in Warsaw, 40% of artists are of Jewish descent.
The auditions drain him emotionally. He can choose only the best musicians but, at the same time, he is aware of what can happen to the ones who will not qualify for his band. He decides to do a ‘blind audition’. He does not want any non-musical qualities of the applicants to influence his decision. For the musicians, this is two times more stressful: performing in front of one of the biggest stars but also fighting for your life.
Organising the Palestine Symphony Orchestra is a great challenge. Huberman must apply for visas for his musicians, collect money to transport the artists and cover their pay cheques. Thus, he organises concerts in the United States. During one of such concerts, someone steals his Stradivarius from the changing room.
On 26th December 1936, a concert is held in which the newly-created orchestra is led by Arturo Toscanini, one of the first Italian artists to oppose Nazi politics. The conductor calls off his performances in the Third Reich. Hitler is personally affected by this decision: he admires Toscanini’s interpretations of Wagner’s operas from the Bayreuth festival. The concert in Cairo is transmitted to London and from there to the rest of the world.
During World War II, Huberman is involved in activities in aid of Polish refugees. He saves the lives of around 1,000 Jewish musicians and their families. In May 1944, in New York, he takes part in a Polish music concert during which he performs Karol Szymanowski’s First Violin Concerto under the direction of Grzegorz Fitelberg. In 1946, he goes on tour in Europe, Egypt and Palestine. He spends his final years in his villa in Corsier-sur-Vevey.
Translated by Patryk Grabowski
Bronisław Huberman
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