What They're Saying About Us

The New York Times
"Founded shortly after 9/11, Musicians for Harmony has sponsored a memorial concert every year since 2002. Luminaries taking part this year include Leon Fleisher (in Brahms's Piano Trio in C), the Orion Quartet (playing Mozart), the violinist Mark O'Connor (leading the Knights in a new piece of his own) and Musique Sans Frontières, with a banjo player." —Anne Midgette (9/8/06)

"Sounds Rising Above Prejudice" Musicians For Harmony was founded after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, in the hope that music might foster understanding between cultures.... It presented its fifth [concert commemorating 9/11] on Monday evening at Merkin Concert Hall, a hefty program of classical chamber music, with a folk- and jazz-tinged set by Musique Sans Frontières. Mark O'Connor's 'Harmony,' composed for the occasion,...was an easygoing, celebratory piece. The highlight for listeners with more straightforwardly classical interests was an incandescent account of the Brahms Trio No. 2 (Op. 87). Leon Fleisher, in fine form, gave a passionate, nuanced account of the piano line, and two members of the Guarneri Quartet (the violinist Arnold Steinhardt and the cellist Peter Wiley) matched each other's phrasing closely. The Orion String Quartet, joined by the Guarneri's violist, Michael Tree, opened the concert with Mozart's Quintet in G (K. 516), in a reading that basked in the transformation from courtliness to inner intensity peculiar to Mozart's late works." —Allan Kozinn (9/13/06)

"This worthy organization was founded in a burst of musical idealism in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. Musicians donate their services for an annual concert that commemorates the victims and raises money for peace-related causes. This year, the program features an eclectic roster of classical and world musicians." —Jeremy Eichler (9/9/05)

"There is an element in Iraq that is not happy that Iraqis are playing Western music or teaching Western music to their children,’ said Allegra Klein, a violinist. She founded a group called Musicians For Harmony, in New York, which raised $1,000 for the Iraqi orchestra at a benefit concert.” —Barbara Jespon (12/7/03)

The New Yorker
“Musicians For Harmony (Classical Music ‘Pick of the Week’). The annual observances of the anniversary of the September 11th attacks have given weight to what used to be a blank space in the classical schedule… This valuable organization, formed in the wake of 9/11, brings a diverse group of musicians to the stage of Merkin Concert Hall for some unexpected collaborations.” —Russell Platt (9/4/06)

"This impromptu fall concert, first offered in the wake of 9/11, has become an annual tradition that aims to bridge the gap between the musical styles of East and West.” —Russell Platt (9/12/05)

New York Magazine
“Musicians For Harmony (recommended). Music collective created shortly after 9/11 in response to the attacks marks the anniversary with an all-star concert to benefit education.” —Alicia Zuckerman (9/4/06)

"Some excellent musicians gather for the fourth annual concert commemorating the tragedy of 9/11, to bring comfort and encourage peace…. All proceeds go to the Gezundheit! Institute, an arts-centered hospital that works to promote peace, justice, and universal care.”
—Alicia Zuckerman (9/12/05)

New York Daily News
"Music’s Healing Touch.Finding things that hold the world together can be harder than finding things to blow it apart, which makes it heartening that five years after 9/11, ordinary people keep bringing light from that day’s darkness. Next Monday, New York-based Musicians For Harmony (MFH) will hold its fifth annual Sept. 11 ‘Concert for Peace’ at 7:30 p.m. in Merkin Hall. Highlights include the premiere of violin virtuoso Mark O’Connor’s ‘Harmony’ with the musical group the Knights, and that work neatly reflects MFH’s goal of blending musical styles from bluegrass and classical to world folk and chamber… finding in music a commonality too often so tragically absent in life.” —David Hinckley (9/6/06)

The New York Sun
“An International Music-Keeping Force. Like many New Yorkers, Allegra Klein, a violinist and arts administrator, wanted to do something to help after the terrorist attacks five years ago… Ms. Klein’s efforts grew into Musicians for Harmony, a group formed to promote cultural understanding through music. The organization, whose players donate their services, will hold its fifth annual ‘Concert for Peace’ tonight at Merkin Concert Hall… In the future, the group hopes to expand to other cities, as well as to present more concerts by Musique Sans Frontières (pictured left). It is also launching an afterschool program for Brooklyn middle school students this fall. And Ms Klein remains optimistic in her belief in the healing power of music. ‘It does foster peace,’ she said. ‘I truly believe that.’ "
—Roberta Hershenson (9/11/06)

New York Times
“Cultures in Combination to Commemorate a Tragedy.  While many countries try to stem the flow of anything foreign (whether people or ideas) across their borders, musical boundaries have become so porous that it now feels natural to see a pipa alongside Western strings.… The mesmerizing pipa player Wu Man presented… the premiere of “Soliloquio Serrano” by Gabriela Lena Frank, [who] provided Ms. Wu with a virtuosic, expressive tapestry inspired by the harawi, a melancholy song genre from the Peruvian Andes.… The Shanghai Quartet gave a stellar account of Ravel’s String Quartet in F, and its passionate playing – driven, elegant and nuanced – inspired energetic clapping by the audience between movements.” —Vivian Schweitzer (9/13/07)

Time Out New York
“DON’T MISS... Musicians For Harmony: East meets West in this benefit for an Iraqi orchestra and the families of Sept. 11 victims. Any way you look at it, this is a pretty amazing event.” —Steve Smith (9/4/03)

Strings Magazine
“The Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra, which created such a stir last year during its debut US concert tour, is prospering thanks, in part, to the generosity of stateside benefactors and the New York-based charity Musicians For Harmony, Inc."  —Greg Cahill (Dec. 2004)

Strad Magazine
“Musicians For Harmony, founded in the wake of 9/11, seeks to establish a bridge between the art music of the Middle East and Western classical music. Merkin Hall was nearly full for its fourth annual concert (13 September). The Shanghai Quartet opened the programme with Janácek’s ‘Kreutzer Sonata’ Quartet [which showcased] their beautiful tone and phrasing… The concluding item, Beethoven’s Trio in E-flat Major Op. 70, No. 2, found two members of the Guarneri Quartet, violinist Arnold Steinhardt and cellist Peter Wiley, joining pianist Anna Polonsky. They might consider playing more trio concerts as they seemed well suited to each other...” —Dennis Rooney (Dec. 2005)

Big Apple Parents
"September 11th’s ‘Concert for Peace’ definitely has a youth-oriented theme… [Their] beneficiary will be Musicians For Harmony’s brand-new Educational Workshop Division, a program offering after-school workshops on world music instruments to students in New York City public schools.” (Sept. 2006)

Classical Domain
"Musicians for Harmony began five years ago with a different approach to commemorate the attacks of 9/11. The evenings revolve around renowned classical and world musicians, playing within their discipline and together across musical boundaries... Founder Allegra Klein is attempting to redefine what a memorial response should be in a world where contemplation loses out to competing agendas. Klein and [artistic director] Patrick Derivaz have found a way to keep a link between cultures, while the world and the media are focused on creating distinctions."
—Gregg Deering (Sept. 2006)

Articles About Musicians For Harmony

Iraqi Overtures
Symphony Magazine - November/December 2007 (PDF file)

Solace Through Sound
New York Sun - September 10, 2007

War & Performance
Strings Magazine - October 2007

Music’s Healing Touch
New York Daily News – September 6, 2006
 
Sounds Rising Above Prejudice
New York Times – September 13, 2006
 
Musicians For Harmony: Concert to Commemorate September 11
Digitalcity.com -September 2004
 
The Road To Recovery: Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra
Symphony Magazine - March/April 2004 (PDF file)
 
Mission to Baghdad
Strings Magazine - March 2004
 
This Battle of the Bands Is Peaceable
New York Times - December 7, 2003
 
Concerted Effort for Good Will
Crains New York Business - December 1, 2003
 
Iraqi Orchestra Moves Into New Home
Associated Press - November 14, 2003
 
9/11: Music in Tribute and Remembrance
National Public Radio - September 11, 2002
 
The Arts Respond: Expressing Emotions the Classical Music Way
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - September 8, 2002