“My Music Carries a Message of Love”
Baruch Berliner’s Genesis Premieres in Italy at Santa Felicita, Featuring the Orchestra da Camera Fiorentina
“As a child, I loved Italian opera and admired composers like Verdi and Rossini, as well as great directors such as Zeffirelli. Italian cinema and the music of Morricone, Rota, and Puccini moved me deeply, becoming a major source of inspiration. So, it came as no surprise to me that the rehearsals of the Orchestra da Camera Fiorentina under Maestro Lior Shambadal’s direction were superb…”
With these passionate words, Baruch Berliner—Israeli composer, mathematician, and writer—introduces Genesis, a symphonic meditation on free will and the conflict between good and evil, inspired by the texts of the Torah. The world premiere takes place this evening (9:00 p.m.) in Italy, at the Church of Santa Felicita, featuring narration performed by actor Rosario Campisi.
Born in Tel Aviv in 1942 to a Jewish family that had escaped Nazi Germany, Dr. Berliner was raised in an environment steeped in Viennese culture and Central European traditions. He wove together music with a distinguished career in theoretical physics, mathematics, and international actuarial research: “While working on my doctoral thesis in Zurich, I would walk along the lake, and it was there that I began composing: mathematics and music, both rooted in philosophy, form the deepest part of my life anchored—as Pythagoras envisioned—in creativity and intuition.” His compositional mastery was further strengthened in the 1990s through his encounter with Nachum Slutzker.
Among Dr. Berliner’s most renowned works are The Binding of Isaac, Jacob’s Dream, and the oratorio Abraham. “All of them draw on biblical themes that have always been present in my life: I believe in God and in the morality bestowed by Him, which, as the Torah teaches, confronts humanity with the choice between good and evil. In Genesis, I turned to this eternal question through a series of episodes from the creation of the world—Adam and Eve, their sin and exile; Cain and Abel; Noah and the Flood—deliberately concluding the work with the image of a rainbow, symbolizing the Covenant and God’s promise of peace.”
The Torah, a sacred text translated into roughly seven hundred languages, will be read during the concert in Italian, allowing the audience to connect with the writing.
And what of the conflicts of today?
“I am convinced that music is the most effective means to foster mutual understanding. Unable to speak the same language, people can hardly understand one another, yet music brings them back to the same level, opening a channel for reciprocal communication. Music is a universal language, capable of expressing emotion and love. That is why I believe my music can help bring people closer and further unite them.”
Ginevra Barbetti
Corriere Fiorentino
March 18, 2026