Our Jewish Cabaret project introduces a concert of musical works inspired by Jewish folk music or composed by Jewish composers. In the beginning of the 20th century, Jewish folk music blossomed and was the focus of great interest in the cultural scene in Russia and other European countries. Many composers in Europe, both Jewish and non-Jewish, promoted Hebrew music together with the thriving Jewish folk music or composed by Yiddish theater and the cabaret before the Second World War.
When the war began, a large portion of the music was lost and many composers perished due to the persecutions of the Nazi regime. A large part of the music and Jewish musical activity was lost along with them. In this program, the Atar Trio will introduce some of these sounds – well-known songs that became milestones in Jewish consciousness, such as the songs of Kurt Weill and Itzik Manger as well as other musics that is rarely heard. The repertoire includes cabaret songs by Arnold Schoenberg, Kurt Weill, Yoel Angel and Zemlinsky as well as chamber music by Joseph Achron, Ernest Bloch, Robert Kahn, and more.
A large part of the songs in this program have been arranged for a chamber ensemble by the pianist Ofer Shelley and performed by vocalists Ruth Levin, Yeela Avital and Odelia Dahan. Our first exposure to some of this virtuosic Jewish music occurred while listening to a concert by the violinist Hagai Shacham and the pianist Arnon Erez in the Rubin Academy of Music, during which works by Yossef Achron were also performed.
Performances of the Jewish Cabaret project have been presented in Italy, Austria and many other places. This program was recorded and broadcasted by the Israeli national TV and Classical music channel.
Ruth Levin ,Yeela Avital and Odelia Dahan, sopranos
