Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of Jewish music, including klezmer and other traditions.
Music
The Latest
-
The Schmooze Rabbi Greg Wall on the BBC
The BBC doesn’t interview American rabbis all that often, let alone mention them in a completely spiritual, non-political context. But their recent special on Rabbi Greg Wall pleasantly defies expectations. Wall is a jazz and klezmer virtuoso who was recently ordained as a rabbi and appointed to lead the Sixth Street Synagogue in New York,…
-
The Schmooze A Passover Nightmare
It’s Passover time, and a heady mix of liberation, freedom and matzah fills the air. While we recount the tale of the Children of Israel’s escape from Egypt, a strange inversion of this story unfolds in France. In this nightmare exodus, the Israelite (a non-Jewish klezmer clarinetist) flees Egypt (Moldova) and makes it to the…
-
The Schmooze Nazis, Mendelssohns and Music: The Mendelssohn Mishpocha on Surviving Felix
“Mendelssohn, the Nazis and Me,” a recent DVD release from Kultur International Films, reproduces a 2009 BBC TV film by UK-born writer Sheila Hayman about her eminent ancestor, the composer Felix Mendelssohn. The multi-talented Hayman is author of previous light-hearted novels and documentary scripts about robots, abortions in China, car design and other eclectic subjects….
-
The Schmooze Heard Fresh: Innovative Jazz Pianist Fred Hersch
The Cincinnati-born Jewish jazz pianist Fred Hersch, who will be giving a much-anticipated solo concert on March 31 at New York’s Weill Recital Hall, has been scaling barriers for decades. One of the few openly gay musicians in the surprisingly closeted and macho world of jazz, Hersch has also been HIV-positive since 1986, conquering many…
-
The Schmooze Music and Philosophy at a Private Concert Hosted by George Soros
Philosophy is what matters most to George Soros, I learned the other day after an elegant party at Soros’s duplex Manhattan apartment (I was invited by a mutual friend) celebrating the latest recording of Bartók by Angela & Jennifer Chun, a Korean-born sister team of violinists. I shared a cab on the way home with…
-
The Schmooze The SoCalled Movie at SXSW
It’s hard to articulate what makes Canadian artist SoCalled special. To say, as I did in a recent article, that he blends klezmer with hip hop, hardly does him justice. To add that he plays the accordion and performs magic tricks makes him sound like something of a sideshow. None of this conveys the way…
-
The Schmooze Guys & Dolls & Bagels & Animals: American Jewish Composer Frank Loesser at 100
Some Jewish Broadway tunesmiths were gifted with longevity, like Irving Berlin, the Methuselah of Tin Pan Alley, who was still around to celebrate his centenary in 1988. By contrast, the much-beloved Frank Loesser — who would have turned 100 on June 29 — died over 40 years ago at the premature age of only 59….
-
The Schmooze Thomas Adès Takes Manhattan
Fans of modern music may already know the accomplished young composer, pianist, and conductor Thomas Adès. Born in London in 1971 of Syrian Jewish ancestry, Adès’s highly theatrical, sometimes quite humorous imagination is uncommon among composers of his generation. In rare interviews, Adès reveals the gravity and sobriety of a master of ironic double meanings….
Most Popular
- 1
Fast Forward Was the viral Ta-Nehisi Coates interview a hit piece or fair play? A journalism ethics expert weighs in.
- 2
Culture How my odious cousin Roy Cohn was responsible for creating Donald Trump — and me
- 3
Culture New conspiracy theory just dropped — Jews are causing the hurricanes
- 4
Sports 5 Jewish things about the Mets — and why Jewish fans adore them
In Case You Missed It
-
Opinion I’m a Jew of color. Ta-Nehisi Coates can’t apply U.S. lessons to Israel
-
Fast Forward ‘All options are on the table’ to keep Iran from going nuclear, Kamala Harris says in High Holiday call with Jewish voters
-
Opinion Forgiveness has its limits: a Yom Kippur reflection on justice
-
Opinion Atoning during a war feels impossible. Instead, resolve to do better
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism