A story about the past, long kept silent and yet still alive: Martha Bijlsma explores the story of her family’s persecution by the Nazis through a combination of chamber music and historical documents.
Sat. 26.9.2026
19:30, Theater im Ballsaal
Martha Bijlsma: Don’t Mention the War
- Chamber Music, Dance, Performance & Music Theatre
- Tickets
- € 19
Martha Bijlsma © Patrick Essex 
Kana Sugimura © Zuzanna Specjal 
Nico Gutu © Pigini Accordions
Contributors
- Martha Bijlsma cello
- Kana Sugimura violin
- Nico Gutu accordion
- Friederike Blum mentor
Programme
Don’t Mention the War. Interdisciplinary concert (premiere)
***
Pēteris Vasks
»Pianissimo« from »Grāmata čellam«
Johannes Brahms
»Gestillte Sehnsucht« from Zwei Gesänge op. 91/1, arr. for violin, cello and accordion
Abraham Brudno
Friling (»spring«), arr. for violin, cello and accordion (text: Shmerke Kaczerginski)
Olivier Messiaen
»Danse de la fureur, pour les sept trompettes« from Quatuor pour la fin du Temps, arr. for violin, cello and accordion
Wolfgang Rihm
Am Horizont. Stille Szene for violin, cello and accordion
Max Bruch
Excerpts from Violin Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, op. 26, II. Adagio, version solo violin
Ulises Hermosa/ Gonzalo Hermosa
Lambada (excerpts)
Jean Villard (Gilles)
Les trois cloches (excerpts)
The concert at a glance
What can I expect?
What does it sound like?
A playlist with the original versions of the works:
Description
»My concerts aim to tell a story«, says Martha Bijlsma. With her Fellowship production, the Dutch cellist breaks the silence that surrounded her grandmother’s past as a Holocaust survivor for decades. Based on personal research, she interweaves archival material, video art, and theatrical elements with solo and chamber music together with Jewish folk songs.
Event is partially in English
