# Composers inspired by klezmer?



## methuselah (10 mo ago)

Some of Shostakovich's String Quartets, with which I am currently obsessed, bear the marks of klezmer, and/or gypsy melodies and rhythms. Besides SQs from names like Schnittke or Bartok, which other composers have drawn from folk/klezmer music?


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## FrankinUsa (Aug 3, 2021)

I immediately thought of Mahler.


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## John Zito (Sep 11, 2021)




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## Red Terror (Dec 10, 2018)

••• John Zorn •••


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## RICK RIEKERT (Oct 9, 2017)

If you look past the big names there are lots. For example:

Simeon Bellison's _Four Hebrew Melodies in form of a suite_
Simon Sargon's _KlezMuzik_
David Schiff's _Divertimento from Gimpel the Fool_
Grzegorz Fitelberg's _To the Wedding_
Robert Starer's _Kli zemer: Instrument of song_
Gregori Schechter's _ Klezmer Rhapsody_
Paul Schoenfield's _Trio for clarinet, violin and piano_
Yehudi Wyner's _Tanz and Maissele_ (Dance & Little Story)
Leon Zuckert's _Doina_ for clarinet and piano
Joachim Stutschewsky's _Memories_
Mark Phillips' _One of a Kind_
Alexander Krein's _Esquisses Hebraiques_
Jonathan Flowers' _Visions in the Dark_
Ofer Ben-Amots' _Celestial Dialogues_
Samuel Adler's _Canto XIX_
Paul Ben-Haim's _Three Songs without Words_


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## VoiceFromTheEther (Aug 6, 2021)




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## methuselah (10 mo ago)

FrankinUsa - Which pieces? I only know the Adagietto (which is great).


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## Kreisler jr (Apr 21, 2021)

The most prominent Mahler passage is a section in the 3rd movement of the 1st symphony.

Osvaldo Golijov wrote at least one klezmer-influenced clarinet quintet: Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind
There are older such pieces on the cpo anthology with Klöcker. ASIN ‏: ‎B000026CXD

The Milken Archive series on Naxos has a disc "Klezmer concertos" by Schoenfield, Scharer and others. 
ASIN ‏: B0000C508L

Golem film music: ASIN : B000026HVZ


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## dko22 (Jun 22, 2021)

One of the main inspirations for Shostakovich to write his klezmer music was his Jewish/Polish friend Weinberg. There's no doubt there was a two way influence here.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Just want to chime in to give a big +1 to the posts that named *Osvaldo Golijov* and *Paul Schoenfield*.


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## RICK RIEKERT (Oct 9, 2017)

Kreisler jr said:


> The most prominent Mahler passage is a section in the 3rd movement of the 1st symphony.


Some believe Mahler may have gotten the klezmer idea from Mendelssohn:


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## methuselah (10 mo ago)

wow - thanks to all for the recommendations!


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Art Rock said:


> Isaac Schwartz: Yellow Stars (National Philharmonic Of Russia, Vladimir Spivakov, Capriccio)
> 
> Isaac Iosifovich Schwartz (1923 - 2009), also known as Isaak Shvarts, was a Soviet composer, born in the Ukraine, who specialized in movie soundtracks. I played this CD end 2021 for the first time as part of my playing/cataloguing effort, and made the note: "wonderful! need to play again soon!" Today is "soon". Yellow Stars (1993) is a concerto for orchestra in seven movements (sometimes called a symphony as in the Wikipedia article), composed in memory of the Holocaust victims. The bittersweet work is inspired by Jewish music, including Klezmer. It is indeed wonderful - actually, it's been quite a while since I have been so impressed by a work that is (relatively) new to me. Note: play again soon!


:tiphat: .


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