Acclaimed Japanese violinist Rennosuke Fukuda took to the stage with the United Nations Orchestra in Geneva, Switzerland, on 17 March at a special event to raise funds for the work of UNAIDS in South Africa and to celebrate the centenary of the birth of Nelson Mandela.

“Nelson Mandela helped to break the silence around HIV. Today there are 4.2 million people on treatment in South Africa. In 2000, there were just 90 people on treatment through public sector facilities. We need leaders like this to support us to end the AIDS epidemic,” said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS.

South Africa has the largest HIV epidemic in the world. In 2016:

• 7.1 million people were living with HIV in South Africa.
• 270 000 people became newly infected with HIV.
• 110 000 people died of AIDS-related illnesses.

Michael Møller, Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva and Honorary President of the United Nations Orchestra, welcomed the guests to the event and spoke of the qualities of Mr Mandela, which resonate today more than ever. “The power of constructive action and ideas, the importance of reason and argument, of forgiveness and reconciliation, the need for compromise—without undermining the core principles of dignity and equality,” he said.

During the evening, the 800-strong audience was transported on a journey to the wild Scottish coastline in The Hebrides overture by Felix Mendelssohn before being whisked into the world of The Thousand and One Nights as depicted by Nikolaï Rimsky-Korsakov in his Symphonic Suite, Scheherazade. Mr Fukuda, who won international acclaim after being awarded first prize in the junior category of the prestigious Menuhin Competition in 2014, gave an outstanding rendition of the famous violin concerto by Mr Mendelssohn.

“Both Nelson Mandela and Yehudi Menuhin were giants of the 21st century. They were great friends and had similar philosophies, similar beliefs,” said Gordon Back, Artistic Director of the Menuhin Competition. “Yehudi Menuhin once said, the antidote to violence is simple, just listening instead of shouting, seek to understand and communicate with each other.”

Yehudi Menuhin met Mr Mandela in 1996 when Mr Menuhin travelled to Johannesburg, South Africa, with more than 200 violins to give to young South Africans from disadvantaged backgrounds with the aim of teaching them music as part of the Violins for Africa programme. The two inspirational figures shared many humanist values.

“Nelson Mandela could move hearts and move minds, change the way we view others, deal with issues of discrimination,” said Sello Hatang, Chief Executive of the Nelson Mandela Foundation. “As we play music tonight, in his honour, may we give hope to those who just want to be given the opportunity to live.”

The event was organized by the United Nations Orchestra in partnership with UNAIDS, the Menuhin Competition and the South Africa Permanent Mission to the United Nations in Geneva.

South Africa’s Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Nozipho Joyce Mxakato-Diseko, also attended the event, along with the Ambassadors of Benin, Botswana, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Namibia, Sierra Leone and Switzerland. The concert is part of a series of events being held in Geneva during 2018 to mark the centenary of the birth of Mr Mandela.