What connects a 300-year-old cello, a lost concerto, and the darkest chapters of 20th-century Europe? In this first ever episode of History for F***’s Sake, acclaimed author, BBC Radio 3 presenter, documentary maker, and cellist Dr. Kate Kennedy joins host Sarah Dowd to unravel the extraordinary true story at the heart of her acclaimed book, Cello: A Journey through Silence to Sound.

Kate has traced the journey of the missing cello belonging to Hungarian Jewish cellist Pal Hermann, lost for over 70 years after he was murdered during the Holocaust. Kate’s search took her across post-pandemic Europe, through cathedrals, Berlin streets, and sites of unimaginable suffering, ultimately weaving together her own fractured identity as a musician with those of others whose lives were shaped or shattered by history.

In this episode, Kate shares the human impact of finding the “unfindable” from the moment a chance message reunited Hermann’s daughter (and Europe) with her father’s long-lost cello, to the role of music, objects, and storytelling in keeping history alive.

Highlights:

• The journey from Wells Cathedral School to the stages of Europe, and how a teenage injury changed Kate’s artistic path
• What it’s like to seek an object haunted by the Holocaust
• The extraordinary reunion of Pal Hermann’s cello with his daughter at Wigmore Hall and what happens next for the instrument’s story
• The emotional tightrope of writing living history, from biographer’s ethics to working hand-in-hand with Holocaust survivors
• Exploring the profound connection between musicians and their instruments
• How cathedrals and museums can use music and storytelling to connect, not exclude, audiences today.

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About Dr. Kate Kennedy

Kate Kennedy is an award-winning biographer, broadcaster, cellist, and Director of the Oxford Centre for Life Writing and the Museum of Music History. She’s the author of Cello: A Journey through Silence to Sound, which was named BBC Music Magazine’s Book of the Month, and a passionate advocate for making stories from the past resonate for new generations.

Kate’s work spans research into lost and silenced voices from composers erased by persecution to the overlooked contributions of women in music, and the secret histories waiting in boxes of dusty manuscripts.

Connect with Kate:

Website: https://drkatekennedy.com/

Oxford Centre for Life Writing: https://oclw.web.ox.ac.uk/home

X: @DrKKennedy

Insta: @drkatekennedy

BlueSky: @drkkennedy.bsky.social

About Sarah Dowd:

I’m Sarah Dowd - writer, speaker, heritage and arts consultant, producer, and all-around nerd - here to share the stories of our past that make us laugh, gasp, and mutter: It’s History… For F***k’s Sake.

For 25+ years I’ve created immersive, inclusive experiences that bring history alive, from rallying Second World War convoys through London to staging performances between Pearly Kings and Gen Z creatives. My work spans museums, cathedral crypts, pop-up theatres, global brands, and community projects across the UK and beyond.

As a Canadian living between the UK and France (with a late ADHD diagnosis that fuels my curiosity and creativity), I zigzag through culture, history, and big ideas, but never boring ones.

Every week on HistoryFFS, we explore how history echoes through today, from Drag Race to prefab tiny houses, with voices from musicians to mischief-makers.

Follow @HistoryFFS - because we’re all making history, one ridiculous, wonderful moment at a time.

Connect with Sarah:

Website: www.historyffs.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahdowd/

Patreon: HistoryFFS

YouTube: @HistoryFFSPod

Instagram: @historyFFSPod

TikTok: @historyffspod

X: @HistoryFFSPod

Produced by: winteraudio.co.uk

Follow the show for new episodes exploring the objects, people, and moments that shaped our world. If you want the story AND the sound of the past, this is essential listening.