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Itzhak Perlman in the Fiddler's House: A Journey to the Heart of Klezmer (review)

2007; Music Library Association; Volume: 64; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1353/not.2007.0124

1534-150X

Joan O’Connor,

Music History and Culture

Reviewed by: Itzhak Perlman in the Fiddler’s House: A Journey to the Heart of Klezmer Joan O’Connor Itzhak Perlman in the Fiddler’s House: A Journey to the Heart of Klezmer. DVD. With Red Buttons, Fyvush Finkel, Samuel Sanders, Leopold Kozlowski, Brave Old World, Kapelye, The Klezmatics, The Klezmer Conservatory Band. Directed by Don Lenzer and Glenn DuBose. [England]: EMI Classics, 2006, [p1995]. 0946 3 68609 9 2. $24.98. If you ever wondered what klezmer music is, this video will introduce you to the sounds and the history of some performances, with rehearsals, as well as scenes of Prague, and shots of dining on Polish Jewish food. Klezmer means "instruments of song." Klezmer music, "folk instrumental music of the East European Jew," includes "liturgical and Hasidic music, folksong traditions, Yiddish theatre music, art music, and popular song." Much of this music has an Eastern Romanian flavor. In the nineteenth century, the hammered dulcimer often played with a violin or flute. Later in the century they were included in larger bands. In the early twentieth century, the violin was replaced with a clarinet or trumpet in order to be heard in larger venues. The violin is still present in the popular musical Fiddler on the Roof. Klezmer musicians most often perform at weddings and in the Yiddish theatre (liner notes). The video starts at a festival in New York City, then continues on to Cracow where they explore the streets, and the cemeteries, [End Page 129] and listen to a klezmer band. At a New York restaurant we hear comedian Red Buttons and Yiddish vaudevillian Fyvush Finkel recall playing the Catskills. They both do a number for the camera. Back in Cracow a well-known Polish musician, Leopold Kozlowski, and Perlman reminisce about their families from Poland. Perlman's father relates his heritage. They play a piece written by someone who was killed in World War II. Perlman stresses that it is important not to forget the Jewish and Eastern European cultures, and plays a haunting melody in one of Cracow's beautiful synagogues. Although the Jewish population is much smaller now in Poland (only 200 Jews live in Cracow), everyone responds to klezmer music by dancing, singing, and simply feeling joyous. The tunes feel like part of everyone's heritage. At another klezmer rehearsal Perlman recalls his own daughter's wedding and the video shows shots of other couples in historic wedding outfits. We visit the Jewish Cultural Festival in 1995 and see how the amplified violin of the Klezmatics "pickles" the melody. The Klezmer Conservatory Band and Brave Old World also perform in this video. This is definitely Perlman's film—even when other musicians are playing, the camera is usually on him. We see him learning klezmer tunes and rehearsing with the Klezmatics. However this is not a "how-to-play" video. It shows interesting scenes of Cracow, Polish food, klezmer concerts and rehearsals, some vintage footage, and lots of dancing. This is a light enjoyable DVD. Joan O’Connor University of Houston Copyright © 2007 the Music Library Association, Inc.