Erwin Schulhoff, a Czech composer successful in Germany between the wars, was a communist and a Jew who died of tuberculosis in a concentration camp after being deported.
Compositional Technique
Leonid Desyatnikov's 'Yiddish - 5 Songs for Voice and String Quartet' is a series of free transcriptions of cabaret songs from Warsaw and Łódź, transforming 'lowbrow' music into an 'exquisite gravure' through the string quartet's sound.
Historical Context
Until 1939, Poland was the center of the Jewish world, home to the largest Jewish population and a thriving cultural scene including theatre, literature, music, opera, and a significant film industry.
Album & Artwork
The album concept was proposed by harmonia mundi to the Jerusalem Quartet, who then sought a subject with a natural connection to them and broad public appeal, leading them to Jewish music.
Composer Biography
Erich Wolfgang Korngold's invitations to Hollywood to compose film scores ultimately saved his life and his family's from the gas chambers in Nazi-occupied Europe.
Historical Context
Yiddish, a vernacular and literary language for European Jews since the 12th century, ceased to be a living language for Jewish communities in Europe after the Holocaust, becoming primarily an academic and historical language.
Cultural Impact
Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe transformed Vaudeville into modern Broadway, and Jewish immigrants and refugees largely founded Hollywood, demonstrating the spread and influence of Yiddish culture on Western culture.
