“77 Rosen” – a unique musical event in Zurich on September 4, 2022
“77 Rosen” – a unique musical event in Zurich on September 4, 2022
Roma, Sinti, Yenish and Jewish music and poetry – 77 years after Auschwitz
77 years after the liberation of Auschwitz, Primafila AG is joining forces with musicians to commemorate that past of crimes and suffering in a spirit of reconciliation. On Sunday, September 4, 2022, two musical performances with a literary flavor will take place in the cloister of the Grossmünster church in Zurich. The players and singers are the Sinti musicians Markus Reinhardt (great-nephew of Django Reinhardt) and Rudi Rumstajn from Cologne, the Roma band Ssassa (conducted by Christian Fotsch) and musician Omer Nevo, rabbinical assistant to the Jewish Liberal Community Or Chadasch in Zurich. The two concerts are inspired by excerpts from an edition of the Swiss literary magazine “orte”, entitled “Auf der Milchstrasse fahren wir davon; Roma, Sinti and Yenish poems and by Yiddish poetry. The event will be opened by Rabbi Ruven Bar Ephraim.
In a spirit of reconciliation and joie de vivre
It is two years since Christian Fotsch of Ssassa, the theater director Federico Pfaffen and Viviane Egli of Primafila, organized the “75 Rosen” musical event.
“77 Rosen” is a renewed commitment to ensure we do not forget what we must not forget. This is the context to the three hours of rousing music that celebrates life. The “77 Rosen” event, which comprises two one-and-a-half-hour consecutive performances, is based on the fascinating interplay of Roma and Sinti musical artists with a Jewish musician. “77 Rosen” features musicians from eight countries and different cultures. Traditional Roma songs, Sinti jazz, Hebrew music – as well as a waltz, which a fellow prisoner of Markus Reinhardt’s grandfather was made to compose for the Nazis in the concentration camp – all have a place in the “77 Rosen” program that exudes reconciliation, joie de vivre and melancholy. The Grossmünster cloister is an atmospheric venue for the concerts on September 4.
77 years ago, the grandfather of the violinist Markus Reinhardt returned on foot to Cologne from Auschwitz with other surviving family members. For Markus Reinhardt, great nephew of Django Reinhardt, this is a reason to celebrate survival through music and in a spirit of reconciliation. Not by emphasizing victimhood, but by celebrating the continuation of a culture and musical identity. This attitude is shared by the other musicians taking part in “77 Rosen”. Some of the Roma musicians also lost family members in the National Socialist era, according to the brilliant Ssassa trumpeter Denis Zekirov.
Poetry to go with the music
“77 Rosen” also presents short lyrical passages, poems and poetic prose by Roma, Sinti, Jewish and Yiddish poets, with readings interspersed throughout the music program. The poetry is based on an issue of the Swiss literary magazine “orte” entitled, “Auf der Milchstrasse fahren wir davon”, (Along the Milky Way we run away) – a line from the poem “Dream” by the Roma poet Kujtim Paçaku from Kosovo, who died in 2018. This line sums up the “77 Rosen” program: movement, from the past into the future.
The renowned photographer and filmmaker Alberto Venzago will accompany the concert day in the Grossmünster cloister. Also present on site will be theater director Federico Emanuel Pfaffen.
The event will be held in accordance with the Covid-19 protective measures in place on September 4, 2022. The Grossmünster Zurich with Pastor Christoph Sigrist are hosting the event. Other support in the form of 77 red roses and sponsorship is provided by Blumenbinder and Migros Kulturprozent as well as Schweizerische Interpretenstiftung. The bookstore Mille et deux feuilles will set up a table for the sale of books, CDs and documentation. Further sponsorship is sought to cover the musicians’ fees. Primafila AG and Christian Fotsch of Ssassa will act as guarantors for the event.
More information:
Viviane Egli, Primafila AG and “orte” literary magazine
egli@primafila-cm.com
079 206 64 07
Christian Fotsch, Ssassa
christian@ssassa.ch
076 319 00 18