Orchestra of Exiles

Orchestra of Exiles is one of the most moving films we have ever seen to the point where we ordered a copy for Laurie and for Neal.  Carla told us her Grandpa Bill and Grandma Riva already gave her a copy!  What is especially exciting, Oompa and Meema became engaged in 1965 when we sang with the Mendelssohn Choir that performed with the Pittsburgh Symphony directed by Maestro William Steinberg.  What we did not know, William Steinberg was the rehearsal director of the Orchestra of Exiles with the great Arturo Tosconini conducting.  This group of the most talented musicians rescued  from Europe during the Holocaust became the Palestine Symphony and later the Israel Philharmonic Symphony.

Polish Violinist Bronislaw Huberman

On the brink of World War II and the rise of Nazi-occupation, one man’s remarkable four-year odyssey helped rescue Europe’s premier Jewish musicians and their families from persecution, while preserving the musical heritage of Europe. Orchestra of Exiles, a 90-minute documentary film by Academy Award-nominated Josh Aronson, tells the dramatic story of celebrated Polish violinist Bronislaw Huberman (1882-1947). With courage, resourcefulness, and an entourage of allies including Arturo Toscanini and Albert Einstein, Huberman bravely stood up to racial intolerance, ultimately saving almost 1,000 Jews from 1933–1936 while forming the Palestine Symphony Orchestra.