Music from Auschwitz and Theresienstadt can be experienced in Aarhus
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Rachel Einarsson2 min read|30. October 2023
2023 marks the 80th anniversary of the rescue of the Danish Jews during the Second World War. It is being commemorated at Besættelsesmuseet in Aarhus, where on 2 November it receives a visit from Lelo Nika Trio, who perform music from the German concentration camps. Music that was also played by Danish prisoners in the camps.
In the midst of the atrocities in the concentration camps of Theresienstadt and Auschwitz, music found its ways, and at this concert a small audience has the chance to experience part of it. The programme includes music by, among others, Pavel Haas and Ilse Weber. Lelo Nika Trio delivers the music together with Artos Kvartetten.
"It will be a very intimate affair, and only 25 tickets have been put on sale".
This is how Søren Tange Rasmussen, museum curator at Besættelsesmuseet in Aarhus, sets the scene for the special concert, which fits well into the Aarhus museum, which operates under Den Gamle By and has Denmark during the Occupation as its theme.
Both the music and the musicians are something special this evening; the accordionist Lelo Nika, who gives the trio its name, perhaps ought to receive more attention. He is among the world elite of accordionists, and he lives in Denmark. Here he cultivates his richly sounding instrument in Lelo Nika Trio, which also consists of George Mihalache on cimbalom and the bassist Thommy Andersson. Lelo Nika comes from Serbia and moved to Denmark as a child in 1970 with his family. He trained as an accordionist in both Sweden and Denmark and has made his mark a couple of times in the CIA, which is the world championship for accordionists.
Now the trio is appearing together with the Aarhus quartet Artos Kvartetten, which includes, among others, the cellist Brian Friisholm from Aarhus Symfoniorkester. And the subject is, as mentioned, the Danish Jews. During the Second World War they had their own story. For one thing, most of them reached safety in Sweden, which happened mainly in the autumn of 1943.
Read the rest of the concert preview at https://klassiskbureau.com/lelo-nika-trio-2023