Bringing Jewish music to the concert hall

In The New Yorker‘s “Culture Desk” blog, William Robin writes on premature autopsies of classical music:

There is a creepy bloodlust to the doom-mongering of classical music, as though an autopsy were being conducted on a still-breathing body. What if each commentator decided, instead, to Google “young composer” or “new chamber ensemble” and write a compelling profile of a discovery? Why not interview members of the local orchestra and find out how real people make careers in a purportedly comatose industry? Why not talk to those graying audience members—contempt toward the elderly is a common theme in death-of-classical-music articles—and find out how their history of listening has improved their lives? Statistics provide firm answers, but not necessarily to the right questions. If the stakes are as high as the life and death of an art form, why not explore the question of why it might be the case by looking at the actual, lived experiences of those involved?

Instead, classical-music concern-trolls toss poorly aimed barbs. Critics blame the business (“It’s a charity case!” “Ticket sales will never account for all of its costs!”) and the culture (“Why all the abstruse rules of conduct?” “Why can’t I wear shorts?”) without having a clear grasp on either. There seems to be a deeper savagery at work, one that maniacally insists that a functioning industry reflect on itself, as though orchestra managers and opera intendants were oblivious to their own problems. “Listen to me!” the pundit demands, shaking classical music by its shoulders. “I have the stats. You’re dead.”

Read the rest.

In November, Cantor Netanel Hershtik and the Jakobsplatz Orchestra of Munich traveled to the Vienna Konzerthaus to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Kristallnacht:

The 2014 Sydney Festival recently featured a performance of the Apollo Ensemble of Amsterdam, who brought rare treasures from the Jewish Baroque repertory — first performed in our Spring 2013 concert — to the Great Synagogue of Sydney. Limelight Magazine reviews:

The Victorian grandeur of the interior with its whipped cream plasterwork, ornate Ark and commanding Bimah made the perfect setting for a bit of musical drama which, on the whole, was what we got. A plethora of composers were represented, some Jewish, some not, some obscure, some almost totally forgotten in a program designed for contrast rather than representing an attempt at a liturgical reconstruction of any kind.

Read the rest here.

In the Washington Post, PMH co-founder Charles Krauthammer writes about the American Studies Association’s recent vote to boycott Israeli universities:

In this sea of easy and open bigotry, an unusual man has made an unusual statement. Russian by birth, European by residence, Evgeny Kissin is arguably the world’s greatest piano virtuoso. He is also a Jew of conviction. Deeply distressed by Israel’s treatment in the cultural world around him, Kissin went beyond the Dershowitz/Weinberg stance of asking to be considered an Israeli. On Dec. 7, he became one, defiantly.

Upon taking the oath of citizenship in Jerusalem, he declared: “I am a Jew, Israel is a Jewish state. . . . Israel’s case is my case, Israel’s enemies are my enemies, and I do not want to be spared the troubles which Israeli musicians encounter when they represent the Jewish state beyond its borders.”

Read the rest here.

Last Saturday, Evgeny Kissin — one of the world’s greatest pianists and the star of Pro Musica Hebraica and The John F. Kennedy Center’s February 24th concert — received Israeli citizenship. “I want all the people who appreciate my art to know that I am a Jew, that I belong to the People of Israel,” Kissin explained. “That’s why now I feel a natural desire to travel around the world with an Israeli passport.”

Here is the video of the ceremony, which included Jewish Agency chairman Natan Sharansky:

The Jerusalem Post reports on the ceremony and notes that Kissin has more than just musical gifts:

Aside from his musical talent, Kissin is also something of a linguist, and speaks a beautiful Lithuanian Yiddish, some of which he picked up from his grandparents and aunt, but mostly taught himself. It was in Yiddish that he told the writer of this column that he will be giving a recital of Jewish music and poetry at the Kennedy Center in Washington on February 24.

The performance, in which Kissin will recite Yiddish poetry in addition to playing works by Milner, Bloch, Krein and Veprik, is a co-production of the Kennedy Center and Pro Musica Hebraica, which is dedicated to bringing neglected Jewish music to the concert hall.

Tickets to this February 24 concert, An Evening of Jewish Music and Poetry, are on sale at the Kennedy Center website.