Gil Shaham, the renowned American violinist, usually plays his (loaner) Stradivarius, made at the end of the 17th century.

“It’s called the Stradivarius 1699 Plus Tax,” he says. “That’s the sixteen-hundred-ninety-ninth time I’ve made that joke.”

Also known as the Countess Polignac, the Strad 1699 accompanies Shaham most places he goes, but when he performs in Scottsdale Feb. 23-24 for Arizona Musicfest, he also will be exploring a new relationship with another instrument — one that survived the Holocaust and has been preserved for history by the Violins of Hope project in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Violins of Hope is a collection owned by father and son Amnon and Avshalom Weinstein, both violin makers. In the years after World War II, German-made violins were an unwanted reminder of their tragic provenance (often with owners murdered by the Nazis). But Amnon’s father, who owned a violin shop, couldn’t bear to discard them.

From these beginnings, Amnon assembled a collection of violins, violas and cellos from the Holocaust. Many were played to entertain the Nazi guards.

“There are many individuals that by playing could survive and did so, and their stories are important to show that no matter what, people tried to keep some kind of humanity in their life,” Amnon Weinstein said via email.

Shaham, who was born in Illinois to Israeli parents, remembers visiting the Tel Aviv violin shop as a kid.

“It was kind of a famous place to go, especially if you were a violinist,” he says. “You would walk into this apartment on the ground floor of a three-story building, and there would be all these violins lined up, and I remember he had the ‘Czardas’ by Monti (sheet music) on the music stand. There was something very inspiring about that.”

Now the collection is more famous, touring as a combination exhibit and concert. Since 2008, the instruments have traveled to more than a dozen cities in Europe and America.

As part of this year’s Arizona Musicfest series, Shaham will join an orchestra drawn from top ensembles around the country to perform the Brahms Violin Concerto as well as selections from John Williams’ “Schindler’s List” film score.

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“I believe the Brahms Violin Concerto was the composer’s statement about the virtues of friendship,” he says. “He wrote it for his lifelong friend, Joseph Joachim, the violinist.

“Music really does have this power to transcend time and cultures and generations, and I think this is a very powerful piece about our shared humanity.”

Reach the reporter at [email protected] or 602-444-4896. Follow him at facebook.com/LengelOnTheater and twitter.com/KerryLengel.

‘Violins of Hope’ with Gil Shaham

When: Feb. 23-24.

Where: Two venues. 8 p.m., Feb. 23 at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, 7380 E. Second St. 3 p.m., Feb. 24 at La Casa de Cristo Lutheran Church, 6300 E. Bell Road, Scottsdale.

Admission: $44-$86.

Details: 480-422-8449, azmusicfest.org.

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