A violinist recently performed at the “Shalom-Musik.Koeln” festival who surprised some of the audience, namely the Federal Government Commissioner for Jewish Life in Germany and the Fight against Anti-Semitism, Felix Klein. He plays in the trio Accento, among others. In an interview, he talks about his instrument, his idea for a national Jewish music festival and what music can do in dark times like after October 7th.
Mr. Klein, you play the violin in several ensembles. How did you get into the instrument?
My father was a professional violinist until he did something completely different and studied mineralogy. He then went into the chemical industry, but played the violin at a high level until the end of his life. I myself studied something else, but always continued to play the violin. There was no question that I would learn something different – as is the case when parents set an example. I had a very important violin teacher for 20 years; she was like a kind of grandmother to me. She inspired me.
And what does the violin mean to you?
The great thing about the violin is that you can play in so many different formations. I have a string quartet and a piano trio, and of course you can also play in an orchestra.
You recently performed at the “Shalom-Musik.Koeln” festival with the Trio Accento. What can a trio setting offer?
We had chosen only Jewish composers for the concert, including personalities with a connection to Cologne, such as Maria Herz and Jacques Offenbach. We wanted to show the diversity that they have created to enrich the world. A piano trio is very diverse; you can play popular music, like in our case by Shlomo Gronich, but also serious classical music like Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy.
The Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 brought dark times for Jews in Germany too. What can music achieve in such times?
Music reaches people’s hearts. And that is why a Jewish music festival is the right format to come together with positive thoughts. When it comes to Jews, many people too often think only of the Holocaust, the Middle East conflict, or anti-Semitism. And a music festival like this can actually send a signal against anti-Semitism: the more naturally Jewish life is perceived as part of society, the less it will be in danger of being attacked. And when people know something better and enjoy it, a very good signal is sent. That is particularly important in these times, when Jewish life is being attacked more strongly than at any time since the Holocaust. The number of anti-Semitic crimes has exploded since October 7. It is good that these and similar music formats exist, and we should have them much more regularly.
What could that look like from your point of view?
There are fantastic initiatives in many cities. They should be more closely linked and national days for Jewish music and Jewish culture should be set up. For example, the European Day of Jewish Culture at the beginning of September would be a good example. That would be a possible format for next year that I could imagine.
Anyone who is interested in Jewish music may also make one or two surprising discoveries …
Yes, the diversity surprises many people. I don’t want to get into the discussion about what Jewish music is. But there are connections with Jewish worship, folklore, but also with modern music such as electronic music and contemporary music from Israel. That’s just fun. I’m also happy about the “aha” moments, for example when someone says: Oh, Jacques Offenbach was Jewish? It took a long time for Mendelssohn to regain his place in our classical music repertoire. For a long time he was seen as too sweet. This goes back to the poison of the Nazis, which had a long-lasting effect.
