Igor Levit Organizes Solidarity Concert at the Elbphilharmonie to Fight Anti-Semitism

All proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to organizations that help people cope with anti-semitism

The Russian-German pianist Igor Levit has organized a solidarity concert, to be held at the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, in protest of the recent rise of anti-semitism in Germany.

According to Deutsche Welle, anti-semitic incidents in Berlin rose sharply following the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Incidents that year were up 50% on the previous year, with a majority of them taking place after the attacks.

All proceeds from ticket sales will be given to OFEK e.V., a counseling service which specializes in anti-Semitic violence and discrimination — as well as to the Stiftung Bornplatzsynagoge, the foundation that built the Bornplatz Synagogue, a symbol of hope for the future of Jewish life in Germany.

Alongside Levit, the concert will feature Michel Friedman, Alan Gilbert, Malakoff Kowalski, Efrat Alony, Dirk von Lowtzow, Olli Schulz, Tim Mälzer, Düzen Tekkal, and Ronya Othmann.

You can purchase tickets here.

"Few things help as much as compassion," Levit said. "Few things are as good as knowing that you are not alone with your feelings, your pain, your fears, your thoughts. I have always had this conviction."

"After 7 October, it has now become even stronger," he added. "The drama and the consequences of that day, the greatest crime against the Jewish people since the Shoah, are still omnipresent today. The pain of that day has not ended for us, neither for me, nor for countless people around the world. Our concert, entitled Against Silence. Against Anti-Semitism, is exactly that: a brief moment of togetherness – an evening that gives us space and time together: to mourn, to hope, to reflect, to empathize."

"I am looking forward to it with all my heart."