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The most musical nation: Jews and culture in the late Russian empire

2011; Association of College and Research Libraries; Volume: 48; Issue: 05 Linguagem: Inglês

10.5860/choice.48-2582

1943-5975

James Loeffler,

Jewish Identity and Society

No image of pre revolutionary Russian Jewish life is more iconic than the fiddler on the roof. But in the half century before 1917, Jewish musicians were actually descending from their shtetl roofs and streaming in dazzling numbers to Russia's new classical conservatories. At a time of both rising anti-Semitism and burgeoning Jewish nationalism, how and why did Russian music become the gateway to Jewish modernity in music? Drawing on previously unavailable archives, this book offers an insightful new perspective on the emergence of Russian Jewish culture and identity. It was finalist for the 2012 Sami Rohr Book Prize for Jewish Literature, as given by the Jewish Book Council.