Our Spring 2014 Concert with Evgeny Kissin

An Evening of Jewish Music and Poetry

  • In a co-production of the Kennedy Center and Pro Musica Hebraica, Evgeny Kissin, a pianist of depth, lyricism, and power, presented an entirely unique and deeply personal program in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall: the music and poetry of East European Jewry. For the first time ever, Mr. Kissin brought together his two great passions, classical music and Jewish literature. His program featured rare solo piano works by early twentieth-century Russian Jewish composers inspired by traditional Jewish music, including Alexander Veprik’s Sonata No. 2, along with Ernest Bloch’s magnificent 1935 Piano Sonata. In addition, he recited personally selected Yiddish poetry of uncommon depth and beauty.

    Learn more about An Evening of Jewish Music and Poetry »

New! Music Archive

Featured Concert

The ARC Ensemble
Before The Night: Jewish Classical Masterpieces of Pre-1933 Europe

  • Terrace Theater
  • The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
  • Washington, D.C.
  • May 7th, 2015

Latest News and Reviews

DC Metro Theater Arts reviews our latest concert

  • By Pro Musica Hebraica
  • March 31, 2016

Review of our spring concert: “jaw-droppingly beautiful”

  • By Pro Musica Hebraica
  • April 3, 2016

How Evgeny Kissin Became a One-Man Yiddish Pride Movement

  • By Allan M. Jalon, The Forward
  • December 14, 2015

The Music and the Musicians

Musicians

Marc-André Hamelin

Pianist Marc-André Hamelin’s unique blend of musicianship and virtuosity brings forth interpretations remarkable for their freedom, originality, and prodigious mastery of the piano’s resources. Long known for his bold exploration of unfamiliar pianistic terrain, Mr. Hamelin has increasingly turned his attention t... Continue Reading »

The Musical Tradition

Introducing the St. Petersburg School

Today when we hear the phrase "Jewish classical music," we often think of composers such as Leonard Bernstein or Arnold Schoenberg. But the true modern history of Jewish art music begins more than 100 years ago in the city of St. Petersburg, then the cultural and political heart of Tsarist Russia. It was there, begi... Continue Reading »

  • About Pro Musica Hebraica

    [S]ince its founding, Pro Musica Hebraica, an organization dedicated to bringing neglected Jewish music to the concert hall, has produced two concerts a year of uncommon interest.

    The Washington Post
    April 29, 2010

    Our first seasons at Washington’s Kennedy Center featured critically-acclaimed performances by Itzhak Perlman, the ARC Ensemble of Canada, and the Apollo Ensemble of Amsterdam, among others.

    Charles Krauthammer
    Chairman of the Board
    Hillel Ofek
    Executive Director
    Robyn Krauthammer
    Chief Executive Officer
    James Conlon
    Simon Wynberg
    Board of Advisers
    Joshua Walden
    Resident Scholar