海角大神

The plaintive cries of the violin are often associated with mourning.听

But during the Ukraine war, the fiddle is producing sounds of strength. It鈥檚 become a tool of defiance and an instrument of generosity.听

Take classical violinist Vera Lytovchenko. She鈥檚 been from the basement of her apartment building in Kharkiv, Ukraine. The Los Angeles Times called her an 鈥�.鈥�

Ms. Lytovchenko started playing to ease the fear of her neighbors amid the explosions. Then she uploaded videos to let her friends know she鈥檚 still alive, she tells me via Instagram. Now, she says her bunker recitals are a message of hope to the world. 鈥淲e have [the] strength and power to resist and ... we still have hope that the war will finish soon,鈥� she says.听

In another basement in Kyiv, violinist Illia Bondarenko鈥檚 grandmother filmed him playing an old Ukrainian folk song. He did it at the request of a world-class British violinist. She put out a call via social media for other top violinists to accompany Mr. Bondarenko. Within 48 hours, she received videos from 94 violinists (including nine from Ukraine), representing 29 countries.听

Ms. Peacock, reached in Los Angeles after a rehearsal Tuesday for the upcoming Oscars, calls an unprecedented 鈥渇ellowship of rosin and broken E strings.鈥澛�

The violinists鈥� video delivers a stirring counterpoint to the chaos and violence of war. And it鈥檚 a kind of prayer, she says. It sends 鈥渢he message of harmony across nations and across all boundaries. Musicians don鈥檛 see boundaries. We speak a universal language. And we exist in a different form of consciousness,鈥� Ms. Peacock says. 鈥淲hatever your spiritual beliefs, there is power behind music. And it speaks to a higher power.鈥�

The video also links to a .听

What鈥檚 next? Ms. Peacock plans to hold a live weekly 鈥減rayer session鈥� for Ukraine by violinists around the world. 鈥淲e鈥檒l play the same piece at the same time together,鈥� she says. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a power to someone playing and praying at the same time.鈥�