Memorial Concerts “79 Roses”

Memorial Concerts “79 Roses”: 79 years After Auschwitz – A Stirring Fusion of Music and Poetry

For the fourth time this year, the Memorial Concerts “79 Roses” took place in the cloisters of churches and cathedras in four Swiss cities: St. Gallen, Lucerne, Zurich, and Schaffhausen.

Held in September and marking 79 years since the liberation of Auschwitz, these concerts were a resounding success, offering a unique blend of music and literature to honor memory and reflection.

The focus this year was on the powerful combination of music and poetry. The music program featured short readings from poems and literary texts from the past century to the present. By uniting musicians from the Roma, Sinti and Jewish cultures, as well as a disabled rapper, who performed the various pieces together, the concerts explored the theme of music across different cultures. The texts – also from these cultures – were paired with musical performances, interpreted by the 79 Roses Ensemble under the direction of Christian Fotsch, whose virtuosity brought the words to life.

The Memorial Concerts are a non-profit project, made possible by the generous support of the Ernst Göhner Foundation, Migros Cultural Percentage, the Swiss Interpreters’ Foundation SIS, SUISA, Aargauer Kuratorium, and the cities of Lucerne, St. Gallen, and Zurich, along with the cantons of Lucerne and Schaffhausen. The concert series was devised and is coordinated in a honorary capacity by Primafila AG.

The concerts were a full success, with attendees deeply moved by the artistic tribute to history, culture, and remembrance. We are looking forward to the next concert series “80 Roses”, which will take place in September 2025.

Further information:
Viviane Egli, egli@primafila-cm.com, +41 79 206 64 07
Christian Fotsch, christian@ssassa.ch +41 76 319 00 18