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A Flagship Production

A Diary in Sound

Rediscovered music and a forgotten life.

Experience the true story of Holocaust composer Dick Kattenburg.

THE EXPERIENCE

Telling the Story

A Diary in Sound uses Dick Kattenburg’s rediscovered music, archival photographs, manuscripts, and historical documents to tell the remarkable story of the young composer and the heroic non-Jews who protected him and his family during the Holocaust.

UNEARTHING A LEGACY

Who was Dick Kattenburg?

Born in Amsterdam in 1919, Dick Kattenburg was a gifted Dutch-Jewish composer whose vibrant music blended classical traditions with the rhythms and harmonies of jazz. His promising career was cut short when he was deported to Auschwitz in 1944. He left behind more than two dozen music manuscripts that remained hidden and largely forgotten for decades.

But those manuscripts tell far more than Kattenburg's music—they tell the story of his life. Through handwritten dedications, dates, and other clues preserved on their pages, and by pairing them with rare photographs, personal letters, and historical records, A Diary in Sound reconstructs Kattenburg's extraordinary journey one composition at a time. Together, the music and the historical evidence form a remarkable musical diary, revealing the life, relationships, hopes, and changing world of a gifted young composer whose music and story is now able to be heard again.

Sunday, November 15, 2026, 2PM - Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library

UPCOMING PERFORMANCES

ABOUT THE MUSICIANS

Pianist Steven Beck has performed as soloist with the New York Philharmonic, National Symphony, and numerous orchestras across the United States, and has appeared at Carnegie Hall, David Geffen Hall, Alice Tully Hall, the Kennedy Center, and the Library of Congress. A Steinway Artist and acclaimed chamber musician, he has recorded more than 40 CDs and is on the faculty of the Juilliard School and the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Trio Fadolín is an innovative chamber ensemble featuring Sabina Torosjan on violin, Valeriya Sholokhova on cello, and Ljova on the fadolín, a unique six-string instrument spanning the range of the violin, viola, and much of the cello. In its inaugural season, the ensemble was presented by Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Perelman Performing Arts Center, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Their repertoire spans classical and contemporary works by composers from Eastern Europe and beyond, alongside original compositions and arrangements by Ljova. Recipients of Chamber Music America's Ensemble Forward grant, Trio Fadolín was the inaugural ensemble-in-residence at Interlochen Public Radio, where they recorded material for their debut album. All three musicians are graduates of The Juilliard School. More info

Lucy Rubin is an award-winning flutist, music theorist, and educator whose research focuses on the lost, forbidden, and forgotten music of World War II and the Holocaust. She is currently developing a lecture-recital series devoted to this repertoire while maintaining an active career as a performer. She is pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts at The Graduate Center, CUNY, studying with Linda Chesis, and holds degrees from the Manhattan School of Music and the University of Georgia. More info

"Repeat the story and pass it on to younger generations."

Christoph Asselberghs