Jewish and Israeli music
Religious
Contemporary Piyyut Zemirot Nigun Pizmonim Baqashot
Secular
Israeli Klezmer Sephardic Mizrahi Secular music Mainstream and jazz Classical Jewish art music
Dance
Israeli folk dancing Ballet Horah Hava Nagila Yemenite dancing
Israel
Hatikvah Jerusalem of Gold
Piyyutim
Adon Olam Geshem Lekhah Dodi Ma'oz Tzur Yedid Nefesh Yigdal
Music for Holidays
Shabbat Hanukkah Blessings Oh Chanukah Dreidel song Al Hanisim Mi Y'malel Ner Li Passover (Haggadah) Ma Nishtana Dayenu Adir Hu Chad Gadya Echad Mi Yodea
v t e

Klezmorim

Klezmer (Yiddish כליזמר or קלעזמער, pl כליזמר,כליזמרים, from Hebrew כלי זמר — instruments of music) is a musical tradition of the Ashkenazic Jews of Eastern Europe. Played by professional musicians called klezmorim, the genre originally consisted largely of dance tunes and instrumental display pieces for weddings and other celebrations. The genre has its origins in Eastern Europe. In the United States the genre morphed considerably as Yiddish-speaking Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe, who arrived between 1880 and 1924,^[1] met and assimilated American jazz. During the initial decades after the "Klezmer Revival," this was what most people knew as klezmer, although in the current century musicians have begun paying attention to the "original" pre-jazz traditions as some original revivialists (e.g., Josh Horowitz, Yale Strom, Bob Cohen) spent years doing field research in Eastern/Central Europe. Additionally, late immigrants from the Soviet Union such as German Goldenshtayn brought their surviving repertoires to the United States and Israel in the 1980s.

Compared to most other European folk music styles, very little is known about the history of klezmer music, and much of what is said about it must be seen as conjecture.^[2] Starting in 2008, "The Other Europeans" project, funded by several EU cultural institutions,^[3] spent a year doing intensive field research in Moldavia under the leadership of Alan Bern and scholar Zev Feldman. They wanted to explore klezmer and lautari roots, and fuse the music of the two "other European" groups. The resulting band now performs internationally. As with this ensemble, groups like Di Naye Kapelye and Yale Strom & Hot Pstromi have incorporated Rom musicians and elements since their inceptions.

Origins of the term klezmer[link]

The term klezmer comes from a combination of Hebrew words: kli, meaning "a useful or prepared instrument, tool, or utensil" and zemer, meaning "to make music"; leading to k'li zemer כְּלִי זֶמֶר, literally "vessels of song" = "musical instrument".

Originally, klezmer referred to musical instruments, and was later extended to refer, as a pejorative, to musicians themselves.^[4] From the 16th to 18th centuries older terms such as leyts (clown) gave way.^[5] It was not until the late 20th Century that the word was used to identify a musical genre. Early twentieth century recordings and writings most often refer to the style as "Yiddish" music, although it is also sometimes called Freilech music (Yiddish, literally "Happy music"). The first recording to use the term "klezmer" to refer to the music was Andy Statman and Zev Feldman's seminal Jewish Klezmer Music.

Style[link]

Klezmer is easily identifiable by its characteristic expressive melodies, reminiscent of the human voice, complete with laughing and weeping. This is not a coincidence; the style is meant to imitate khazone and paraliturgical singing. A number of dreydlekh (a Yiddish word for musical ornaments), such as krekhts ("sobs") are used to produce this style.

The Romanian influence is, perhaps, the strongest and most enduring of the musical styles that influenced traditional klezmer musicians. Klezmer musicians heard and adapted traditional Romanian music, which is reflected in the dance forms found throughout surviving klezmer music repertoire (e.g., Horas, Doinas, Sirbas, and Bulgars etc.).^[6]

History[link]

The Bible has several descriptions of orchestras and Levites making music, but after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, many Rabbis discouraged musical instruments. However, the importance of merrymaking at weddings was not diminished, and musicians came forth to fill that niche, klezmorim. The first klezmer known by name was Yakobius ben Yakobius, a player of the aulos in Samaria in the 2nd century CE. The earliest written record of the klezmorim is in the 15th century. It should be noted that it is unlikely that they played music recognizable as klezmer today since the style and structure of klezmer as we know it today is thought to have come largely from 19th century Bessarabia, where the bulk of today's traditional repertoire was written.

Klezmorim based their secular instrumental music upon the devotional vocal music of the synagogue, in particular cantorial music. Even so, klezmorim — along with other entertainers — were typically looked down on by Rabbis because of their secular traveling lifestyle. Klezmorim often travelled and played with Roma musicians ("lăutari"), since they occupied similar social positions. They had a great influence on each other musically and linguistically (the extensive klezmer argot in Yiddish includes some Roma borrowings).

Josef Gusikov

Klezmorim were respected for their musical abilities and diverse repertoire, but they were by no means restricted to playing klezmer. Christian churches sometimes asked for their services, and some Italian classical violin virtuosos received their instruction.^{[citation needed]} Local aristocracy held the best klezmer in high regard and often used their services.

Like other professional musicians, klezmorim were often limited by authorities. Ukrainian restrictions lasting into the 19th century banned them from playing loud instruments. Hence musicians took up the violin, tsimbl (or cymbalom), and other string instruments. The first musician to bring klezmer to European concert audiences, Josef Gusikov, played a type of xylophone of his own invention, which he called a "wood and straw instrument," laid out like a cymbalom, and attracted comments from Felix Mendelssohn (highly favourable) and Liszt (condemnatory). Later, around 1855 under the reign of Alexander II of Russia, Ukraine permitted loud instruments. The clarinet started to replace the violin as the instrument of choice. Also, a shift towards brass and percussion happened when klezmorim were conscripted into military bands.

As Jews left Eastern Europe and the shtetls, klezmer has spread throughout the globe, especially to the United States. Initially, not much of the klezmer tradition was maintained by U.S. Jews, there were only a few Yiddish folk singers. In the 1920s the clarinetists Dave Tarras and Naftule Brandwein caused a brief, influential revival, although it has been noted by Hankus Netsky that "few of the performers of this era actually referred to themselves as klezmorim, and the term is found nowhere in any Jewish instrumental recording of the time."^[7] The soprano Isa Kremer was a popular exponent of Yiddish song internationally during the first half of the 20th century; notably making several recordings with Columbia Records and appearing often at Carnegie Hall and other major venues in the United states from 1922-1950.^[8] As U.S. Jews began to adopt mainstream culture, the popularity of klezmer slowly waned, and Jewish celebrations were increasingly accompanied by non-Jewish music.

While traditional performances may have been on the decline, many Jewish composers who had mainstream success, such as Leonard Bernstein and Aaron Copland, continued to be influenced by the klezmeric idioms heard during their youth (as Gustav Mahler had been). Many believe Gershwin was influenced by the Yiddish of his youth, and that the opening of "Rhapsody in Blue" was a nod to klezmer clarinetting.^[9] And, much of Benny Goodman's clarinet style can be interpreted as having been derived from klezmer.

At the same time, non-Jewish composers were also turning to klezmer for a prolific source of fascinating thematic material. Dmitri Shostakovich, in particular, admired klezmer music for embracing both the ecstasy and the despair of human life and quoted several melodies in his chamber masterpieces, the Piano Quintet in G minor, op. 57 (1940), the Piano Trio No. 2 in E minor, op. 67 (1944), and the String Quartet No. 8 in C minor, op. 110 (1960).

The Klezmatics, an American klezmer band

In the late 1970s there was a klezmer revival in the United States and Europe, led by Giora Feidman, Zev Feldman, Andy Statman, The Klezmorim, and the Klezmer Conservatory Band. They drew their repertoire from recordings and surviving musicians of U.S. klezmer. In 1985 Henry Sapoznik and Adrienne Cooper founded KlezKamp to teach klezmer and other Yiddish music.

Shortly thereafter, in the 1980s, there was a second revival as interest grew in more traditionally inspired performances with string instruments, largely with non-Jews of the United States and Germany. Musicians began to track down older European klezmer, by listening to recordings, finding transcriptions, and making field recordings of the few klezmorim left in Eastern Europe. Key performers in this style are Joel Rubin, Budowitz, Khevrisa, Di Naye Kapelye, The Chicago Klezmer Ensemble, the violinists Alicia Svigals, Steven Greenman[1] and Cookie Segelstein, the flutist Adrianne Greenbaum, and the tsimbl player Pete Rushefsky. Other artists, like Yale Strom used their first-hand research as a foundation for more of a fusion between traditional repertoire and original compositions, as well as incorporating the Rom (Gypsy) music element into the Jewish style. Bands like Brave Old World, Hot Pstromi and the Klezmatics also emerged during this period.

In the 1990s, musicians from the San Francisco Bay Area also helped revive interest in klezmer music by taking it into new territory. Clarinetist Ben Goldberg played in Bay Area-based Klezmorim, and formed the critically acclaimed New Klezmer Trio with drummer Kenny Wollesen. The New Klezmer trio kicked open the door for radical experiments with Ashkenazi music and paved the way for John Zorn's Masada, Naftule's Dream, Don Byron's Mickey Katz project and violinist Daniel Hoffman's band Davka. The New Orleans Klezmer All-Stars [2] also formed in 1991 with a mixture of New Orleans funk, jazz, and klezmer styles.

Interest in klezmer was sustained and supported by well-known avant-garde jazz musicians like John Zorn and Don Byron, who sometimes blend klezmer with jazz. Klezmer melodies have recently been incorporated into songs by third-wave Ska band Streetlight Manifesto. Singer/songwriter Tomas Kalnoky frequently slips in horn licks with Russian and Jewish origins.

Repertoire[link]

According to Walter Zev Feldman, the klezmer dance repertoire seems to have been relatively uniform across the areas of Jewish settlement in the Russian Empire.^[10] Much of the traditional klezmer repertoire was written by professional klezmer musicians in the style of their region or tradition, and a lot of co-territorial music such as non-Jewish folksongs, especially Romanian music (mainly from Moldavia), as well as Ukrainian music and Ottoman music, and the musics of other minorities living in the same areas as Jews in Southeastern Europe such as Crimean Tatars.

Historically, young klezmorim learned songs from their family and their elders in bands. However, there were several breaks in history where this transmission broke down, including mass emigration, but especially the Holocaust, which destroyed most of Jewish life and culture in Europe. Few scions of klezmer dynasties remained in Europe, one notable exception being Leopold Kozlowski of Poland.

Dave Tarras

Undoubtedly, a lot has been lost of whatever repertoire they played in different regions, especially wedding repertoire, since Jewish weddings can last several days, but technology of the time could only record a few minutes at a time. As well, some recordings may have been made in one area that did not represent klezmer repertoire from other parts of the region. Fortunately, there remained a few older klezmorim—such as Leon Schwartz, Dave Tarras, and German Goldenshtayn—who could recall some of this repertoire. Also, some transcriptions survive from the 19th century. Some ethnomusicological work from Jewish Eastern Europe is still available in print, notably the work of Ukrainian Jewish field researcher Moshe Beregovski.

In the 21st century, klezmer is typically learned from "fake books" and transcriptions of old recordings, although the music was traditionally transmitted and learned by ear.

Song types[link]

Most klezmer pieces are for dancing to, from fast to slow tempo:

• Freylekhs (also Bulgar, bulgarish — literally "Bulgarian", volekhl/vulekhl — literally "Wallachian", or "Romanian") is a (3+3+2 = 8)/8 circle dance, usually in the Ahava Rabboh melodic mode. Typically piano, accordion, or bass plays a duple oom-pah beat. These are by far the most popular klezmer dances. The name "Bulgar" (Yiddish "bulgarish") comes from the Romanian traditional song/dance (Romanian "bulgarească"). "Freylekh" is the Yiddish word for "festive."
• Sher is a set dance in 2/4. It is one of the most common klezmer dances. Its name comes from the straight-legged, quick movements of the legs, reminiscent of the shears (Yiddish: sher) of tailors.
• Khosidl, or khusidl, named after the Hasidic Jews who danced it, is a more dignified embellished dance in 2/4 or 4/4. The dance steps can be performed in a circle or in a line.
• Hora or zhok is a Romanian-style dance in a hobbling 3/8 time with beats on 1 and 3, and is even more embellished. The Israeli hora derives its roots from the Romanian hora. The Yiddish name "zhok" comes from the Romanian term "joc" (literally "dance")
• Kolomeike is a fast and catchy dance in 2/4 time, which originated in Ukraine, and is prominent in the folk music of that country.
• Terkish is a 4/4 dance like the habanera. Terk in America is one famous arrangement by Naftule Brandwein, who used this form extensively. As its name indicates, it recalls Turkish styles.
• Skotshne ("hopping") could be an instrumental display piece, but also a dance piece, like a more elaborate freylekhs.
• Nigun means "melody" in both Yiddish and Hebrew, a mid-paced song in 2/4.
• Waltzes were very popular, whether classical, Russian, or Polish. A padespan was a sort of Russian/Spanish waltz known to klezmers.
• Mazurka and polka, Polish and Czech dances, respectively, were often played for both Jews and Gentiles.
• Csárdás is a Hungarian dance popular among the Jews of Hungary, Slovakia, and the Carpathians. It started off slowly and gradually increased in tempo.
• Sirba — a Romanian dance in 2/2 or 2/4 (Romanian "sârbă". It features hopping steps and short bursts of running, accompanied by triplets in the melody.
• Humoresque "Halaka" dance, a traditional Israeli dance from Safed in Galilee; it has an ancient melody handed down from generation to generation.
• Tango — well-known dance that originated in Argentina. These were extremely popular around the world in the 1930s, and many Eastern European tangos were originally written by Jews.

Additionally, there are types not designed for dance:

• Doina is an improvisational lament usually performed solo, and is extremely important in weddings. Its basis is the Romanian shepherd's lament, so it has an expressive vocal quality, like the singing of the khazn. Although it has no form, it is not just random sounds in a Jewish mode — the musician works with very particular references to Jewish prayer and East European laments. Often these references might occur in the form of harmonic movements or modal maneuvers that quote or otherwise invoke traditional Jewish cantorial practices. Typically it is performed on violin, cymbalom or clarinet, though has been done on everything from banjoes to xylophones. Often it is the first of a 3-part set, followed by a hora, then either a freylekhs or khusidl. One can hear recordings of contemporary vocalists singing the doina, including Michael Alpert and Elizabeth Schwartz.
• Taksim is a freeform prelude that introduces the motifs of the following piece, which is usually a freylekhs; it was largely supplanted by the doina.
• Fantazi or fantasy is a freeform song, traditionally played at Jewish weddings to the guests as they dined. It resembles the fantasia of "light" classical music.

Song structure[link]

Most klezmer songs are in several sections, sometimes with each in a different key. Frequently sections alternate between major and minor keys. Klezmer music often uses "folk scales," or scales commonly found in folk music, such as the harmonic minor and modified phrygian. Instrumental songs often follow the type of chord progressions found in Middle Eastern and Greek music, whereas vocal Yiddish songs are often much simpler, and follow a style and chord progressions similar to Russian folk songs.

Freylekhs are often in the form ABCB, which is rare in music. Having a third distinct section is a relatively unique aspect of klezmer music.

A common ending for songs is an upwards chromatic run or glissando, followed by a slow staccato 8-5-1. They may also end with a Coda, a new melodic line that is accompanied by a change in the percussion rhythm and an increase in tempo. It is played all over the world.

Orchestration[link]

The Amsterdam Klezmer Band performing in Cologne, Germany

Klezmer is generally instrumental, although at weddings klezmorim traditionally accompany the wedding entertainer. A typical 19th century European orchestra included a first violin, a contra-violin (or modified 3-stringed viola also called Groyse Fidl [Yid. Big Fiddle], Sekund, Kontra or Zsidó Bratsch [Hun.]),^[11] a tsimbl (cimbalom or hammered dulcimer), a bass or cello, and sometimes a flute. The melody is generally assigned to the lead violin, while the remainder providing harmony, rhythm and some counterpoint (the latter usually coming from the second violin or viola). The inclusion of Jews in tsarist army bands during the 19th century led to the introduction of typical military band instruments into klezmer. Brass instruments—such as the French valved cornet and keyed German trumpet— eventually inherited a counter-voice role.^[12] Modern klezmer instrumentation is more commonly influenced by the instruments of the 19th century military bands than the earlier orchestras.The orchestration employed by Joel Rubin — one of the most experienced and knowledgeable contemporary klezmer musicians — represents a historically justified link with that of contemporary ethnic music ensembles of Romania and Hungary.^[13]

Percussion in early 20th Century klezmer recordings was generally minimal—no more than a wood block or snare drum. (The snare drum is the more "authentic" of the two. The use of a wood block by modern klezmorim is an attempt to imitate recordings from the early 20th Century that replaced snare drums—which tended to overwhelm the recording equipment of the time—with quieter instruments. In Eastern Europe percussion was often provided by a drummer who played a frame drum, or a poyk, sometimes called baraban. A poyk is similar to a bass drum, and often has a cymbal or piece of metal mounted on top. In Bulgaria, Serbia, and Macedonia, sometimes the pikeler also played in the tapan style, i.e., with a switch in one hand on a thin tight head, and a mallet in the other, on a thicker, looser head.

"New Orleans Klezmer All Stars" band in the Krewe du Vieux parade

Some klezmer revival bands look to loud-instrument klezmer, jazz, and Dixieland for inspiration. Their band is similar to a typical jazz band, with some differences. They use a clarinet for the melody, and make great use of the trombone for slides and other flourishes. When a cymbalom sound is called for, a piano is played with sustain. There is usually a brass instrument ensemble, and sometimes there is a tuba for a bass. Performers in this style include The Klezmatics, Klezmer Conservatory Band, and The Maxwell Street Klezmer Band. Other klezmer bands look back to different eras or regions, and attempt to recreate specific styles of klezmer — for example, Budowitz, the Chicago Klezmer Band, Veretski Pass, and the album "Maramoros: the Lost Jewish Music of Transylvania" by the Hungarian band Muzsikas.

Klezmer instrument choices were based, by necessity, on an instrument's portability. Music was required for several parts of the wedding ceremony, which took place in different rooms or courtyards, and the band had to relocate quickly from space to space. Further, klezmorim were usually itinerant musicians, who moved from town to town for work. Therefore, instruments held in the hands (clarinet, violin, trumpet) or supported by a neck or shoulder strap (accordion, cimbalom, drum) were favored over those that rested on the ground (cello, bass violin), or needed several people to move (piano).

In America, this trend continued, with hand-held or strap-held instruments like guitars, saxophones, and even harmonicas integrated into klezmer ensembles more than larger instruments. The average American klezmeer wedding band, for instance, uses a portable electronic synthesizer, not a piano.

Time[link]

In its historic form, klezmer was live music designed to facilitate dancing. Hence, musicians adjusted the tempo as dancers tired or better dancers joined in. Vocal songs could drag to a near-halt during a particularly sad part, picking up slowly, and eventually bursting into happy song once more. (This is a feature of many Rom and Russian folk songs as well.)

Like other musicians of their time, and many modern Jazz performers, early klezmorim did not rigidly follow the beat. Often they slightly led or trailed it, giving a lilting sound.

Melodic modes[link]

Klezmer is usually played in shteygerim, prayer modes of the synagogue. They are closely related to Greek, Turkish, and other "co-territorial" modes of Southeastern and Central Europe. The following are the names of these modes; the names are taken from the names of familiar prayers that use that mode (imagine an American composer referring to a piece as "a Grand Old Flag" instead of as "a march").

Ahavo Rabboh[link]

Ahavo Rabboh means "Abounding Love" in Hebrew, and refers to a prayer from the daily morning prayer service (shacharis). It is built on the fifth degree of the harmonic minor scale, with a descending tetrachord to the tonic being the most characteristic final cadence. It is also called the "Freygish", a Yiddish term derived from the German "Phrygisch", or Phrygian mode (specifically, the Phrygian dominant scale). It is considered the mode of supplication.^[14] It is similar to the Arabic Hijaz maqam. Most klezmer makes use of the D Ahavah Rabboh scale (such as Nigun Rikud, Tish Nigun and numerous freylekhs), although there exist some that use other scales.

Mi Shebeirach[link]

Mi Shebeirach means "He who blessed" in Hebrew, from the Mi Shebeirach prayer, recited after the honor of being called to the Torah reading. It is also called the Ukrainian, Altered Ukrainian, Doina, or Altered Dorian. It has a raised fourth, and is used often for the doina or dance pieces, like the Odessa Bulgar. When used in combination with the Ahavoh Rabboh scale in the same piece (as in Mayn Shtetl Yas), the Mi Shebeirach section is usually a whole tone below the Ahavoh Rabboh scale (for example, D Ahavoh Rabboh changes to C Mi Shebeirach or vice versa).

Adoyn-y Moloch[link]

Adoyn-y Moloch means "my Lord reigns" in Hebrew. It is common in traditional synagogue services (they are the beginning words of many of the Psalms). It is similar to the Western Mixolydian mode.

Mogen Ovoys[link]

Mogen Ovoys means "our forebears' shield" in Hebrew. It is an older mode from the synagogue, derived from the Friday night prayers. It is similar to the Western natural minor scale.

Yishtabach[link]

Yishtabach means "it shall become superb" in Hebrew (from the daily morning services). It has a frequent lowering of the 2nd and 5th. It is related to Mogein Ovoys, above.

In film[link]

• Yidl Mitn Fidl (1936) directed by Joseph Green
• Fiddler on the Roof (1971) Directed by Norman Jewison
• Les Aventures de Rabbi Jacob (1973) Directed by Gérard Oury
• Jewish Soul Music: The Art of Giora Feidman (1980). Directed by Uri Barbash
• A Jumpin' Night in the Garden of Eden (1988). Directed by Michal Goldman
• Fiddlers on the Hoof (1989). Directed by Simon Broughton
• The Last Klezmer: Leopold Kozlowski: His Life and Music (1994). Directed by Yale Strom
• A Tickle in the Heart (1996). Directed by Stefan Schwietert.^[15]
• Itzhak Perlman: In the Fiddler's House (1996). Aired 29 June 1996 on Great Performances (PBS/WNET television series)
• L'homme est une femme comme les autres (1998). Directed by Jean-Jacques Zilbermann
• Dummy (2002). Directed by Greg Pritikin
• Klezmer on Fish Street (2003). Directed by Yale Strom
• Klezmer in Germany (2007). Directed by K. Zanussi and C. Goldie
• "A Great Day on Eldridge Street" (2008). Directed by Yale Strom
• "The Reluctant Infidel" (2010). Directed by Josh Appignanesi

See also[link]

• List of klezmer bands
• List of klezmer musicians
• Lautari
• Polka
• Shlemiel the First
• Klezmer fiddle

References[link]

Notes

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Klezmer

• Klezmershack.com. History, community and events.
• YIVO Encyclopedia article on Traditional and Instrumental Music of Eastern European Jews
• Recodings of Yiddish songs on The Library of Congress website
• KlezmerGuide.com. Comprehensive cross-reference to klezmer recordings and sheet music sources

Itzhak Perlman
Background information
Born	(1945-08-31) August 31, 1945 (age 66) Tel Aviv, British Mandate of Palestine (now in Israel)
Genres	Classical, Jazz, Klezmer, Baroque
Occupations	Conductor, pedagogue, violinist
Instruments	Violin
Years active	1963–present
Associated acts	St. Louis Symphony, New York Philharmonic, etc.
Website	itzhakperlman.com
Notable instruments
Violin General Kyd Stradivarius 1714 Soil Stradivarius 1714 Sauret Guarnerius del Gesu 1743 ex-Kreisler Bergonzi 1740

Itzhak Perlman (Hebrew: יצחק פרלמן‎; born August 31, 1945) is an Israeli-born violinist, conductor, and instructor of master classes. He is regarded as one of the preeminent violinists of the 20th and early-21st centuries.

Early life[link]

Perlman was born in Tel Aviv, British Mandate for Palestine. His parents, Chaim and Shoshana Perlman, were natives of Poland and had independently immigrated to Palestine in the mid-1930s before they met and got married. Perlman first became interested in the violin after hearing a classical music performance on the radio. At the age of three, he was denied entrance to the Shulamit Conservatory for being too small to hold a violin.^[1] He instead taught himself how to play the instrument using a toy fiddle until he was old enough to study with Rivka Goldgart at the Shulamit Conservatory and at the Academy of Music in Tel Aviv, where he gave his first recital at age 10,^[2] before moving to the United States to study at the Juilliard School with the violin pedagogue, Ivan Galamian, and his assistant Dorothy Delay.^[3]

Perlman contracted polio at the age of four. He made a good recovery, learning to walk with crutches. Today, he uses crutches or an electric Amigo scooter for mobility and plays the violin while seated.

Career[link]

Performing[link]

Ed Sullivan congratulates Itzhak Perlman after a concert (1958)

Perlman was introduced to the wider American public when he appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show twice in 1958.^[4] He made his debut at Carnegie Hall in 1963 and won the Leventritt Competition in 1964. Soon afterward he began to tour widely. In addition to an extensive recording and performance career, he has continued to make guest appearances on American television shows such as The Tonight Show and Sesame Street, as well as playing at a number of functions at the White House.^{[citation needed]}

Although he has never been billed or marketed as a singer, he sang the role of "Un carceriere" ("a jailer") on a 1981 EMI recording of Puccini's Tosca which featured Renata Scotto, Plácido Domingo, and Renato Bruson, with James Levine conducting. He had earlier sung the role in an excerpt from the opera on a 1980 Pension Fund Benefit Concert telecast as part of the Live from Lincoln Center series, with Luciano Pavarotti as Cavaradossi, and Zubin Mehta conducting the New York Philharmonic. Perlman is a basso.

On July 5, 1986, he performed on the New York Philharmonic's tribute to the 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty, which was televised live on ABC Television.^[5]. The orchestra, conducted by Zubin Mehta, performed in Central Park.

In 1987, he joined the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra for their concerts in Warsaw and Budapest, as well as other Eastern bloc countries. He toured with the IPO in the spring of 1990 for their first-ever performance in the Soviet Union, with concerts in Moscow and Leningrad, and toured with the IPO again in 1994, performing in China and India.

While primarily a solo artist, Perlman has performed with a number of other notable musicians, including Yo-Yo Ma, Jessye Norman, Isaac Stern, and Yuri Temirkanov at the 150th anniversary celebration of Tchaikovsky in Leningrad in December 1990. He has also performed (and recorded) with good friend and fellow Israeli violinist Pinchas Zukerman on numerous occasions over the years.

As well as playing and recording the classical music for which he is best known, Perlman has also played jazz, including an album made with jazz pianist Oscar Peterson, and klezmer. Perlman has been a soloist for a number of movie scores, notably the score of the 1993 film Schindler's List by John Williams, which subsequently won an Academy Award for best score. More recently, he was the violin soloist for the 2005 film Memoirs of a Geisha, along with cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Perlman played selections from the musical scores of the movies nominated for "Best Original Score" at the 73rd Academy Awards with Yo-Yo Ma, and at the 78th Academy Awards.

Notable performances[link]

Perlman played at the state dinner attended by Queen Elizabeth II on May 7, 2007, in the East Room at the White House.^[6]

He performed John Williams' "Air and Simple Gifts" at the 2009 inauguration ceremony for Barack Obama, along with Yo-Yo Ma (cello), Gabriela Montero (piano) and Anthony McGill (clarinet). The quartet played along with a recording they had made two days earlier, as stringed instruments cannot reliably stay tuned in subfreezing temperatures. Additionally, he has twice performed as a Pennington Great Performers series artist with the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra in 2003 and 2007.

Instrument[link]

Perlman plays using the antique Soil Stradivarius violin of 1714, formerly owned by Yehudi Menuhin and considered to be one of the finest violins made during Stradivari's "golden period". Perlman also plays the Sauret Guarneri del Gesu of c.1743.

Conducting[link]

In recent years, Perlman has begun to conduct, taking the post of principal guest conductor at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. He served as music advisor of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra from 2002–2004. In November, 2007, the Westchester Philharmonic announced the appointment of Perlman as Artistic Director and Principal Conductor. His first concert in these roles was on October 11, 2008, in an all-Beethoven program featuring pianist Leon Fleisher performing the Emperor Concerto.

Teaching[link]

In 1975 Perlman accepted a faculty post at the Conservatory of Music at Brooklyn College. In 2003, Mr. Perlman was named the holder of the Dorothy Richard Starling Foundation Chair in Violin Studies at the Juilliard School, succeeding his teacher, Dorothy DeLay. He also currently instructs pupils on a one-on-one basis at the Perlman Music Program on Long Island, NY, rarely holding master classes. He also taught at a community center in Be'er Sheba, Israel,^[7]

The Perlman Music Program[link]

The Perlman music program, founded in 1995 by Toby Perlman and Suki Sandler, started as a summer camp for exceptional string musicians between the ages of 11 and 18.^[8] Over time, it expanded to be offered year-long. The program allows the students the chance to be coached by Itzhak Perlman himself before playing at venues such as the Sutton Place Synagogue and public schools.^[9] By introducing students to each other and requiring practice sessions together, musicians who would otherwise be practicing alone develop a network of friends and colleagues in the profession. Rather than remain isolated, participants in the program find an area where they belong.^[10]

Personal life[link]

Perlman resides in New York City with his wife, Toby, also a classically trained violinist. They have five children: Noah, Navah, Leora, Rami and Ariella. Perlman is a distant cousin to Canadian comic/TV personality Howie Mandel.

Honors and awards[link]

• Leventritt Competition – Winner (1964)
• Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance:
  • Daniel Barenboim & Itzhak Perlman for Brahms: The Three Violin Sonatas (1991)
  • Vladimir Ashkenazy, Lynn Harrell & Itzhak Perlman for Beethoven: The Complete Piano Trios (1988)
  • Vladimir Ashkenazy, Lynn Harrell & Itzhak Perlman for Tchaikovsky: Piano Trio in A Minor (1982)
  • Itzhak Perlman & Pinchas Zukerman for Music for Two Violins (Moszkowski: Suite For Two Violins/Shostakovich: Duets/Prokofiev: Sonata for Two Violins) (1981)
  • Itzhak Perlman & Vladimir Ashkenazy for Beethoven: Sonatas for Violin and Piano (1979)
• Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with orchestra)
• Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (without orchestra)
• Grammy Award for Best Classical Album
• Kennedy Center Honors in 2003
• April 1980: Newsweek magazine featured Mr.Perlman with a cover story.^[11]
• 1986: Honored with the "Medal of Liberty" by President Reagan.^[12]
• 2000: Awarded the "National Medal of Arts" by President Clinton.^[12]
• Awarded honorary degrees from Harvard, Yale, Brandeis, Roosevelt, Yeshiva and Hebrew Universities.^[12]

In 2005, he was voted the 135th-greatest Israeli of all time, in a poll by the Israeli news website Ynet to determine whom the general public considered the 200 Greatest Israelis.^[13]

References[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Itzhak Perlman

External links[link]

• IMG Artists Biography
• Official Myspace page
• Itzhak Perlman at Allmusic
• Itzhak Perlman at the Internet Movie Database
• Itzhak Perlman biography in the World Concert Artist directory
• Itzhak Perlman interview on The Charlie Rose Show, (Video) 8-9-2010
• Itzhak Perlman & John Williams interview on The Charlie Rose Show, (Video) 8-8-1997

Daniel Gerard Hoffman (born 3 April 1923) is an American poet, essayist, and academic. He was appointed the twenty-second Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 1973.^[1]

Biography[link]

Hoffman was born in New York City. During World War II, he served in the Army Air Corps, where he served stateside as a technical writer and as the editor of an aeronautical research journal, experiences detailed in his memoir Zone of the Interior. He was educated at Columbia University, earning a B.A. (1947), an M.A. (1949), and a Ph.D. (1956).

In 1954, Hoffman published his first collection of poetry, An Armada of Thirty Whales. This collection was chosen by W. H. Auden as part of the Yale Series of Younger Poets, and Auden commended it in his introduction as "providing a new direction for nature poetry in the post-Wordsworthian world." He has since published ten additional collections of poetry, a memoir, and seven volumes of criticism. Reviewing Beyond Silence in The New York Times Book Review in 2003, Eric McHenry found Hoffman a poet of remarkable consistency, "no less joyful or engaged at 80 than he was at 25."

Hoffman has taught at Columbia University, Swarthmore College, and the University of Pennsylvania. He retired from the latter as Felix Schelling Professor of English Emeritus, and its Philomathean Society in 1996 published an anthology of poetry in honor of his efforts to bring contemporary poets to give readings in their halls. He is a chancellor emeritus of the Academy of American Poets. From 1988 to 1999, he served as Poet in Residence at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City, where he administered the American Poets' Corner.

Awards Hoffman has won include the Hazlett Memorial Award, the Aiken Taylor Award for Modern American Poetry from The Sewanee Review, the Memorial Medal of the Maygar P.E.N. for his translations of contemporary Hungarian poetry, the 2005 Arthur Rense Poetry Prize "for an exceptional poet" from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and several grants and fellowships, including those from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities. He received an honorary degree from Swarthmore College in 2005.

Hoffman was married for fifty-seven years to Elizabeth McFarland (1922–2005), a poet herself as well as the poetry editor of Ladies' Home Journal, from 1948 until that magazine stopped publishing verse in 1961. In 2008 Orchises Press brought out a selection of McFarland's poems, Over the Summer Water, with an introduction by Hoffman, who continues to live in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Hoffman bears an uncanny facial resemblance to Edgar Allan Poe, about whom he wrote an intriguing study worthy of the master himself.

Daniel Hoffman was one of the named plaintiffs in "Authors Guild vs. Google" (2005), the purpose of which was to prevent Google from providing a complete searchable index of extant books.

Bibliography[link]

• Paul Bunyan, Last of the Frontier Demigods (1952)
• An Armada of Thirty Whales (1954)
• The Poetry of Stephen Crane (1957)
• A Little Geste and Other Poems (1960)
• Form and Fable in American Fiction (1961)
• The City of Satisfactions (1963)
• Barbarous Knowledge: Myth in the Poetry of Yeats, Graves, and Muir (1967)
• Striking the Stones (1968)
• Broken Laws (1970)
• Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe (1971), nominated for the National Book Award
• The Center of Attention (1974)
• Brotherly Love (1981), nominated for the National Book Award and National Book Critics Circle Award
• HangGliding from Helicon: New and Selected Poems, 1948-1988 (1988), winner of the 1988 Paterson Poetry Prize
• Faulkner's Country Matters: Folklore and Fable in Yoknapatawpha (1989)
• Words to Create a World: Interviews, Essays, and Reviews on Contemporary Poetry (1993)
• Middens of the Tribe (1995)
• Zone of the Interior: A Memoir, 1942-1947 (2000)
• Darkening Water (2002)
• A Play of Mirrors (2002), a translation from the Italian of Ruth Domino's poems
• Beyond Silence: Selected Shorter Poems, 1948-2003 (2003)
• Makes You Stop and Think: Sonnets (2005)
• The Whole Nine Yards: Longer Poems :Louisiana State University Press (2009) ISBN 978-0-8071-3414-6

References[link]

1. ^ "Poet Laureate Timeline: 1971-1980". Library of Congress. 2008. http://www.loc.gov/poetry/laureate-1971-1980.html. Retrieved 2008-12-19. 

Giora Feidman, 2007

Giora Feidman (born March 26, 1936) is an Argentinian-born Israeli clarinetist who specializes in klezmer music.

Biography[link]

Giora Feidman was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where his Bessarabian Jewish parents immigrated to escape persecution. Feidman comes from a family of klezmer musicians. His father, grandfather and great-grandfather made music for weddings, bar mitzvahs, and holiday celebrations in the shtetls of Eastern Europe. Feidman married Ora Bat-Chaim, his personal manager, in 1975.^[1]

Music career[link]

Feidman playing a lucite clarinet in Jerusalem, 2006

Feidman began his career in Buenos Aires as a member of the Teatro Colón Symphony Orchestra. Two years later he immigrated to Israel to become the youngest clarinetist ever to play with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. He was a member of the orchestra for over 20 years.^[2] In the early 1970s he began his solo career. He has performed with the Berliner Symphoniker, the Kronos Quartet, the Polish Chamber Philarmonic, the Munich Chamber Philarmonic Orchestra, and the Munich Radio Orchestra.

Movie director Steven Spielberg invited him to play the clarinet solos for the soundtrack of Schindler's List, which won seven Academy Awards.

Feidman founded the "Clarinet and Klezmer in the Galilee" seminar and master class program, which takes place every year in Safed, Israel.^[3]

Discography[link]

• Jewish Soul Music (1973)
• The Singing Clarinet (1987)
• Clarinetango (1990)
• The Magic of the Klezmer (1990)
• Viva el Klezmer (1991)
• Gerschwin & The Klezmer (1991)
• The Dance of Joy (1992)
• Klassic Klezmer (1993)
• Concert for the Klezmer (1993)
• Der Rattenfanger (1993)
• Feidman in Jerusalem (1994)
• Klezmer Chamber Music (1995)
• The Soul Chai (1995)
• The Incredible Clarinet (1995)
• For You (1996)
• Schelomo/Barakashot (1996)
• Silence and Beyond — Feidman plays Ora Bat Chaim (1997)
• Feidman in Bayreuth — Lilith — Neun Gesänge der dunklen Liebe (1997)
• Soul Meditation, Harmony of Soul (1997)
• Der Golem — Feidman and the Arditti String Quartet (1997)
• Klezmer Celebration (1997)
• Feidman and Israel Camerata (1998)
• Feidman and Katja Beer — Schubert (1998)
• Journey (1999)
• And the Angels Sing (1999)
• Klezmer and More (2000)
• Rhapsody (2000)
• To Giora Feidman — Your Kletzmer Friends (2000)
• TangoKlezmer (2001)
• Dancing in the Field (2002)
• Feidman plays Piazzolla (2002)
• Love — Feidman plays Ora Bat Chaim (2003)
• Feidman Plays Mozart and More (2003)
• Safad — Feidman and The Safed Chamber Orchestra (2004)
• Ewigkeit dringt in die Zeit (2004)
• Wenn du singst, wie kannst du hassen? (2005)
• Feidman and Eisenberg — Live at St. Severin (2005)
• Crossing Borders (2006)
• Klezmundo (2006)
• Klezmer in the Galilee (2007)
• The Spirit of Klezmer (2008)
• Klezmer & Strings (2009)

Films[link]

• Jewish Soul Music: The Art of Giora Feidman (1980), directed by Uri Barbash.

See also[link]

• Music of Israel

References[link]

External links[link]

• Giora Feidman official site
• Biography at Buffet Crampon's website
• Interview with Giora Feidman, 2008

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (July 2010)

Cypress Hill
Cypress Hill performing at Bonnaroo in 2006
Background information
Also known as	DVX (Devasting Vocal Excellence)
Origin	South Gate, California, United States
Genres	Hip hop, rap rock, alternative hip hop, west coast hip hop
Years active	1988–present
Labels	Ruffhouse, Columbia, Sony Music, Priority, EMI
Associated acts	Soul Assassins, Tom Morello, Everlast, Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, Slash, House of Pain, Xzibit, Funkdoobiest, Adil Omar, Young De, Travis Barker, Psycho Realm, La Coka Nostra, Rusko, Rage Against the Machine, Fergie, La Coka Nostra
Website	CypressHill.com
Members
B-Real DJ Muggs Sen Dog Eric Bobo
Past members
Mellow Man Ace

Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California. Cypress Hill was the first Cuban-American/Latino hip hop group to have platinum and multi-platinum albums, selling over 18 million albums worldwide. It is one of the most well-known groups in West Coast rap and was critically acclaimed for their first two groundbreaking albums.^[1]

History[link]

Formation (1988)[link]

Senen Reyes (also known as Sen Dog) and Ulpiano Sergio Reyes (also known as Mellow Man Ace) are brothers who initially lived in South Gate, California. In 1971, their family had immigrated to the United States, settling in the Los Angeles neighborhood of South Gate. In 1988, the two brothers teamed up with Lawrence Muggerud (also known as DJ Muggs) and Louis Freese (also known as B-Real) to form a hip-hop group named DVX (Devastating Vocal Excellence). The band soon lost Mellow Man Ace to a solo career, and changed their name to Cypress Hill, after a street in South Gate.^[2]

Early works and mainstream success (1989–1995)[link]

After recording a demo in 1989, Cypress Hill signed a record deal with the major label, Columbia Records. Their self-titled first album was released in August 1991. The lead single was the double A-side "The Phuncky Feel One"/"How I Could Just Kill a Man" which received heavy airplay on urban and college radio. The other two singles released from the album were "Hand on the Pump" and "Latin Lingo", the latter of which combined English and Spanish lyrics. The success of these singles led to the album selling two million copies in the US alone. The group made their first appearance at Lollapalooza on the side stage in 1992.

Black Sunday, the group's second album, debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 in 1993, recording the highest Soundscan for a rap group up until that time. Also, with their debut still in the charts, they became the first rap group to have 2 albums in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 at the same time. With "Insane in the Brain" becoming a crossover hit, the album went triple platinum in the U.S. and sold about 3.25 million copies.

The band headlined the Soul Assassins tour with House of Pain and Funkdoobiest as support, then performed on a college tour with Rage Against the Machine and Seven Year Bitch. In 1993, Cypress Hill also had two tracks on the Judgment Night soundtrack, teaming up with Pearl Jam on the track "Real Thing" and Sonic Youth on "I Love You Mary Jane".

The group later played at Woodstock 94, introducing new member Eric Bobo, son of Willie Bobo and formerly a percussionist with the Beastie Boys. Rolling Stone magazine named the group as the best rap group in their music awards voted by critics and readers. Cypress Hill played at Lollapalooza for two successive years, topping the bill in 1995. They also appeared on the "Homerpalooza" episode of The Simpsons. Prior to Bobo joining the crew, Panchito "Ponch" Gomez sat in as a percussionist when not acting.

Their third album III: Temples of Boom was released in 1995, selling 1.5 million copies and reaching number 3 on the Billboard 200 on the strength of the hit single "Throw Your Set in the Air".^{[citation needed]} Cypress Hill also contributed a track "I Wanna Get High" to the High Times sponsored Hempilation album to support NORML.

Continued career (1996–2002)[link]

Sen Dog took a break from the band to form a Los Angeles based rap rock band SX-10.^[3] Meanwhile in 1996, Cypress Hill appeared on the first 'Smokin' Grooves' tour, featuring Ziggy Marley, The Fugees, Busta Rhymes and A Tribe Called Quest. The band also released a nine track EP Unreleased and Revamped with rare mixes. In 1997, band members focused on their solo careers. Muggs released Soul Assassins: Chapter 1 featuring contributions from Dr. Dre, KRS-One, Wyclef Jean and Mobb Deep. B-Real appeared with Busta Rhymes, Coolio, LL Cool J and Method Man on "Hit Em High" from the multi-platinum Space Jam Soundtrack. He also appeared with RBX, Nas and KRS-One on "East Coast Killer, West Coast Killer" off Dr. Dre's Dr. Dre Presents the Aftermath album, and contributed to an album entitled The Psycho Realm with the band of the same name. Though the focus that year was not on group efforts, the band played Smokin' Grooves with George Clinton and Erykah Badu.

Cypress Hill released IV in 1998 which went gold in the U.S., on the backs of hit singles "Tequila Sunrise" and "Dr. Greenthumb." Sen Dog also released the Get Wood sampler as part of SX-10 on the label Flip. In 1999, Cypress Hill helped with the PC crime video game Kingpin: Life of Crime. Three of their songs from the 1998 IV album were in the game ( "16 Men Till There's No Men Left", "Checkmate" and "Lightning Strikes"). B-Real also did some of the voices of the people in the game. Also in 1999, the band released a greatest-hits album in Spanish, Los grandes éxitos en español. In 2000, Cypress Hill then fused genres with their fifth album, Skull & Bones, which was a two-disc album. The first disc, "Skull" was composed of rap tracks while "Bones" explored further the group's forays into rock. The album reached the Top 5 on the Billboard 200 and number 3 in Canada. The first single was "Rock Superstar" for rock radio and "Rap Superstar" for urban radio. Following the release of the album, Cypress Hill (along with MxPx) landed a slot opening for The Offspring on the Conspiracy of One tour. The band also released Live at the Fillmore, a concert disc recorded at the Fillmore (in San Francisco) in 2000. Cypress Hill continued their experimentation with rock on the Stoned Raiders album in 2001. However, its sales were a disappointment, as the disc did not even reach the top 50 of the U.S. album charts. In 2001, the group appeared in the film How High.

[edit] Till Death Do Us Part (2003–2007)

Cypress Hill recorded "Just Another Victim" for WWE as a theme song for Tazz. At the time, WWE was using original music for almost all of the wrestlers, so this was an unusual step for the company to take, but it remains one of the more memorable songs to emerge from the wrestling organization. The band released Till Death Do Us Part on March 23, 2004. The album saw the band experiment with reggae especially on the lead single "What's Your Number". The track features Tim Armstrong of Rancid on guitar and backup vocals. It is based on the classic song "The Guns of Brixton" on The Clash's London Calling and has proven to be a success on the modern rock charts. However, the album represented a further departure from the signature sound of their first four albums. The album also features appearances by Damian Marley, son of Bob Marley, Prodigy of Mobb Deep and producers the Alchemist and Fredwreck.

In 2004, the song How I Could Just Kill A Man was included in the popular video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas created by Rockstar Games, playing on West Coast hip hop radio station Radio Los Santos. In December 2005 a best of compilation album titled Greatest Hits From the Bong was released including 9 hits from previous albums and 2 new tracks. The group's next album was tentatively scheduled for an early 2007 release. In the summer of 2006, B-Real appeared on Snoop Dogg's single "Vato", which was produced by Pharrell Williams.

In 2007 Cypress Hill toured with their full line up as a part of the Rock the Bells tour, held by Guerilla Union, and headlined with Public Enemy, Wu-Tang Clan, Nas, and a reunited Rage Against the Machine. Other acts included Immortal Technique, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, The Roots, EPMD, Pharoahe Monch, Jedi Mind Tricks, Erykah Badu, MF Doom, Sage Francis, Brother Ali, The Coup, Blue Print, Lucky I Am, Living Legends, Felt, Cage, Mr. Lif, Grouch & Eligh, Slightly Stoopid, and Hangar 18.

[edit] Departure from Sony and Rise Up (2008–present)

On July 25, 2008, Cypress Hill performed at a benefit concert at the House of Blues Chicago, where a majority of the proceeds went to the Chicago Alliance to End Homelessness.^[4]

In August 2009, a new song by Cypress Hill, titled "Get 'Em Up", was made available on iTunes. The song is featured on the Madden NFL 2010 video game.^[5]

In November 2009, a new version of Guns N' Roses classic "Paradise City" performed by Cypress Hill, Slash and Fergie was made available as a bonus track to Slash's single "Sahara" off Slash's solo album Slash.

Cypress Hill's eighth studio album, Rise Up, features contributions from Everlast, Tom Morello, Daron Malakian, Pitbull, Marc Anthony and Mike Shinoda.^[6] The album was released on Priority Records/EMI Entertainment, as the group was signed to the label by new Creative Chairman Snoop Dogg on January 15, 2010. The album was finally released on April 20, 2010.^[7] The album's introduction single, "It Ain't Nothin'" was released as a free download from the group's official website. The song "Rise Up" was featured at WWE's pay-per-view, Elimination Chamber, as the official theme song for that event, and was released as the third single for the album, with "Armada Latina" being fourth. The song also appeared in the trailer of the movie The Green Hornet.