Israeli Klezmer
for violin (or clarinet) and piano

I would not give that name to my Klezmer booklet… it sounds rather pretentious. But it happened that the great clarinetist Giora Feidman has defined in these words the style of my Niggunim. So, I adopted his spontaneous definition, which also does not need any elaboration or special reasoning. As a global authority in this field, it is presumably that he studied Niggunim of many composers from many places around the world. Hence, I decided to name it “Israeli Klezmer”. It is true that it is possible to define in the same words all melodies that are created in this style in Israel, but it seems that, in my case, there is a special reason for that. In the traditional Jewish community, it was impossible to separate the Yiddish language and its characteristics from the music to which the Jews danced, and it also expressed their varied moods. The fact that the Yiddish is active in me, here in Israel, is the reason why it subconsciously penetrated to my sounds and rhythms. There are some who tend to characterize the augmented second as one of the prominent characteristics of Jewish music. In my view, there is another characteristic, a bit hidden from the eye, which has not yet received the attention it deserves. In contrast to Western music, in which the climax of a phrase is in the highest pitch of the phrase, in Jewish music it is located between the lower notes of the phrase. I do not intend to delve deeper into the theoretical background of this phenomenon. It is only important to expose it, because it also explains the vitality of the Klezmer style and its ability to renew itself and develop in new channels without breaking away from its original wellspring. I share a special feeling for the Klezmer pieces that I would describe as «Kinder-Klezmer» (pieces describing the child›s world). In the booklet presented here there are a few. The pieces suggest a new starting over and an ability to grow and develop in the future. I hope that musicians and teachers will enjoy this music, which, despite all the changes of time, does not lose its relevance.