Stuart Canin, former concertmaster of the San Francisco and Berkeley symphonies, had a starring role at one of history's most notable summit meetings. Almost 70 years ago, the then 19-year-old Army rifleman played a concert for the American president, the British prime minister, and the Soviet Communist Party boss.
At the Potsdam conference, at end of World War II in Europe, the winners, represented by Truman, Churchill, and Stalin tried to negotiate the postwar fate of the world, and although not doing a good job of it, they wrote the conference into history books.
An extraordinary remembrance of the event will be held in Stanford's Bing Concert Hall, at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 19, with the screening of The Rifleman’s Violin, a performance by Canin, and a discussion with Canin, former Secretary of State George P. Shultz, historian Norman Naimark, and political scientist Scott Sagan.
Canin's performance of music by Kreisler, Tchaikovsky, and Wienawski — accompanied by pianist Helene Wickett — will reprise the historic private concert in the German city. The documentary short The Rifleman’s Violin, directed by Sam Ball and produced by Abraham D. Sofaer, tells the story of Canin and the Potsdam event.