Orchestra of Exiles

At fourteen, Bronislaw Huberman played the Brahms Violin Concerto in Vienna, winning high praise from the composer himself. Instantly famous, Huberman began touring all over the world and received invitations to play for royalty across Europe. But after witnessing the tragedy of World War I, he committed his phenomenal talent and celebrity to aid humanity. After studying at the Sorbonne in Paris, Huberman joined the ranks of Sigmund Freud and Albert Einstein in calling for peace through the Pan European Movement. But when hope for their noble vision was destroyed by the rise of Nazism, Huberman began a crusade that would become his greatest legacy-the creation, in 1936, of the Palestine Symphony, which twelve years later became the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. In creating this world-level orchestra, Huberman miraculously arranged for the very best Jewish musicians and their families to emigrate from Nazi-threatened territories. His tireless campaigning for the project ultimately saved nearly a thousand Jews from the approaching Holocaust.