For Henry Brender, his violin was like an extension of his body and soul. Born in Romania, he showed prodigious talent from an early age and went on to study at renowned music academies in Vienna and Budapest before the outbreak of World War II.
Deported to a forced labor camp, Henry carried his violin with him. It remained by his side when he escaped and joined a group of partisans, sustaining him through the darkest years of the war.
After liberation, Henry became a soloist with the Bucharest Philharmonic. Life under Romania’s communist regime proved difficult: he was detained and imprisoned for six months and later expelled from the orchestra for attempting to immigrate to Israel. In 1960, he finally succeeded in leaving Romania and soon secured a position with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, where he played second violin until his retirement in 1985.
