Stumbling Stones in Boston

A Stumbling Stone is a concrete block about ten centimeters in size with a brass plate engraved with the names and dates of life of victims of Nazi persecution or extermination.

When I walked down Karl-Marx-Strasse in Neukölln a few years ago, I literally tripped over hundreds of Stolpersteine. I read the names on the slabs and thought about how many Jewish people once lived here. Today, the street is inhabited by people of Turkish and Arab origin.

My composition is a kind of variation on different waltzes. When the waltz begins, its three-four time breaks up like a stumble. I am very happy that Fidan will premiere the piece in Boston.