The Lost Cellos of Lev Aronson
a chronicle of the life and fate of Lev Aronson, the world-renowned cellist and Holocaust survivor, and the quest for his lost cello.
To a musician, his instrument is a partner, an extension of himself. Frances Brent explores the fate of Lev Aronson and the prized instruments that passed through his hands as a way of understanding what was lost and preserved during the Holocaust. Born in Germany, but raised in Russia and Latvia, Aronson traveled through the music world of Europe with great expectations and encountered its cultural collapse first hand.
In the Riga Ghetto and in German concentration camps Aronson is forced to reshape his own identity in order to survive. He loses his lover but marries a young dancer who helps him rebuild his life as a musician. In the camps, he “think-sings” the concertos he knows from memory, establishing a sense of time and patience that gives him the strength to survive. After the war, he became the principal cellist in the Dallas symphony, renowned worldwide as a teacher of cello.
Brent paints a moving portrait of a Jewish musician who transcended his own personal losses to transmit the culture of musical Europe to a generation of Americans.
Editorial Reviews
“Frances Brent’s wonderful book movingly allows Lev Aronson’s Lost Cellos to sing again of dark times and profound yearning.” (Elie Wiesel, author of Night)
“By following the interconnected fates of an eminent musician and his cherished cello during the Holocaust, Frances Brent gives us new insight into both the human horror and the material plunder at the heart of the Nazi project. A graceful book about a dark history, The Lost Cellos of Lev Aronson illuminates the deep bonds between artists and their instruments, the rich musical life of interwar Central Europe, and the power of music to sustain the spirit in the face of extremity.” (Eva Hoffmann, author of Appassionata)
“A moving coda to a period that continues to astonish us, The Lost Cellos of Lev Aronson must be read by anyone who cares about history and loves music.” (Kati Marton, author of The Great Escape: Nine Jews Who Fled Hitler and Changed the World)
“Starred Review. Poet and translator Brent (The Beautiful Lesson of the I) gives readers a beautifully meditative account of a Holocaust survivor and cellist, Lev Aronson, and the musical instruments that were like soul mates to him—especially his prized Amati cello, which was taken from him during the war. Aronson was confined to the Riga ghetto and later the Stutthof concentration camp in Poland, but this is not an account of his experiences. Instead, it is Brent's meditation on the fate of music, musicians, and their instruments during dark times. It is also, in a way, a mystery, as Brent investigates what may have happened to the confiscated cello.” (Paul Kaplan - Library Journal)
“Frances Brent gives us a moving account of Aronson’s experience—through war and peace—and a nuanced appreciation of his musical gifts.” (The Wall Street Journal) Read full article -->