The Symphony for Sugihara
A symphony dedicated to
CHIUNE SUGIHARA
and all those who risk everything to save others
Lera Auerbach
Symphony No. 6
VESSELS OF LIGHT
for Violoncello, Choir and Orchestra
“I just did what we as human beings should do. One of my best teachers, in Harbin, once told me: You do the right thing because it is the right thing. Not for gain. Not for recognition. Just because it is the right thing. The refugees were people who needed my help. I could give help to them. It was the right thing to do. That’s all.” – Chiune Sugihara
THE PROJECT
The Symphony
The commission of a symphony was the realization of Japanese-American cellist Kristina Reiko Cooper's idea to honor Chiune Sugihara's heroism. Kristina's husband's father, Irving Rosen, was rescued thanks to the lifesaving visas issued by Sugihara while serving as Japanese Vice-Consul to Lithuania during World War II. The Symphony premiered in Kaunas, Lithuania, on November 5, 2022, with Ms. Cooper, the Kaunas State Choir, and the Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra, conducted by music director, Constantine Orbelian
Lera Auerbach created the music, libretto, and artistic concept for Symphony No. 6, “Vessels of Light,” for Violoncello, Choir, and Orchestra where she weaves a multilayered tapestry of words and music with Yiddish poetry, the art of Japanese Kintsugi, the mystical Shevirat ha-kelim (“breaking of the vessels”), and the silent words of biblical Psalm 121 in a work she dedicates to Chiune Sugihara and all those who risk everything to save others.
KRISTINA COOPER
Cellist
LERA AUERBACH
Composer, and Librettist
Commissioners
