Wolfsohn, J.: Jewish Rhapsody / Hebrew Suite / Paraphrases On Old Jewish Folk Songs / Liszt, F.: Hungarian Rhapsodies

Featuring

Jascha Nemtsov
Franz Liszt
Juliusz Wolfsohn

Did you know?

1/7

Instruments

Both klezmer and gypsy bands typically used instrumental ensembles without singers, often featuring violin or clarinet as solo instruments and cymbalon for accompaniment.

Composer Biography

Juliusz Wolfsohn, a Jewish composer featured on this album, was a 'grand-student' of Franz Liszt, having studied with Theodor Leschetitzky, who was a student of Liszt.

Historical Context

Both Jewish and gypsy peoples, originally from the Orient, were treated as outsiders in Europe for centuries and subjected to persecution, culminating in the Nazi period.

Compositional Technique

Jewish klezmer and gypsy bands share musical characteristics such as improvisation, rhapsodic forms, rich ornamentation, and the use of augmented seconds.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Franz Liszt, the composer of the Hungarian Rhapsodies, was fascinated by the 'search for unbridled freedom' in the gypsy way of living.

Performer Biography

Pianist Jascha Nemtsov, born in 1963, has dedicated many concert programs and recordings to works by Jewish composers persecuted by the Nazis and to 20th-century Jewish art music.