The Orchestra Now (TŌN) Performed Mendelssohn at Nuremberg in Memorial Concert of Remembrance and Artistic Resistance

In an article which appeared in multiple outlets, Shira Li Bartov examines the significance of Bard College’s The Orchestra Now's (TŌN) first overseas trip on May 8. Commemorating 80 years since the end of World War II, TŌN performed a program by Felix Mendelssohn—whose music was outlawed under the Nazis because of his Jewish heritage—at the Congress Hall of Nuremberg in Germany, once the site of Adolf Hitler’s rallies. “For Leon Botstein, the president of Bard since 1975 and TŌN’s founder and conductor, the night was more than a commemoration,” writes Li Bartov. “He conceived this concert years ago to celebrate international peace, the historic alliance between the United States and Europe and the anniversary of a victory against intolerance and censorship.” But the performance carried accentuated significance against the recent backdrop of the US political climate, as well as worsening humanitarian crises arising from wars in the Middle East and Europe today. “This concert is a sign that American citizens, although they freely elected our government, remain committed to the core beliefs that define a democracy,” Botstein addressed the attendees in German at the Nuremberg performance. “And that we, as people and artists, will prevail against autocracy and intolerance, that we will uphold our traditional alliance with Europe.”

Post Date: 07-29-2025