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Violins and Hope

FROM THE HOLOCAUST TO SYMPHONY HALL

Photographs by Daniel Levin

Exhibition On View
November 12, 2021 – July 26, 2022

The Temple-Tifereth Israel
Jack and Lilyan Mandel Building
26000 Shaker Boulevard, Beachwood, OH 44122

The Exhibition

See renowned Israeli luthier (violin maker) Amnon Weinstein’s workshop come alive in 42 large scale photographs by Daniel Levin. The first photographer to document Amnon’s workshop in Tel Aviv, Levin captures a one-of-a-kind collection of violins that survived the Holocaust and the artful process for restoring them. The photographer’s superb ability to celebrate both place and process through the beauty of light is nothing short of remarkable.


A view of a Amnon Weinstein's workshop interior

People viewing the exhibition in the Museum gallery

The Book

In Violins and Hope, Daniel Levin has made the most compelling and beautiful series of photographs documenting Weinstein’s collection of violins, his workshop in Tel Aviv, and his processes for restoration. This book is not a document of place, as much as it is a document of the ethereal. For what Weinstein has done with these lost violins has been to transform tragic loss into triumph in the most insightful and powerful way imaginable. The care that Levin has taken to hone in on the idiosyncrasies of Amnon’s workshop, and his uncanny ability to celebrate the beauty of light, is nothing short of remarkable.


Violins and Hope book cover

The Artists

Luthier Amnon Weinstein repairing a violin

Amnon Weinstein, the renowned Israeli luthier (violin maker) had a vision many years ago to restore violins that survived the concentration camps and ghettos of World War II, even when their owners often did not. His “Violins of Hope” project may be one of the most creative, effective, moving, and magnificent approaches to understanding the Holocaust and how one heals from such pain and loss.

Photographer Daniel Levin

Daniel Levin is a contemporary artist and documentarian whose works primarily address sociological issues. His body of work includes photography, films, and site-specific installations. Through hauntingly beautiful photographs and compelling text, “Violins and Hope | From the Holocaust to Symphony Hall” becomes both an artful rendering and a revelation of the ethereal, as he reveals how Amnon fulfills his dream of transforming tragedy into triumph in the most incisive and powerful way imaginable: bringing violins of the Holocaust back to life. Levin is a tenured Associate Professor of Photography at Tri-C and a congregant of The Temple-Tifereth Israel.

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