I rarely feel compelled to publicly express an opinion of a personal experience but I feel the urge to do so after last night�s performance by Yale Strom and Hot Pstromi at the Lyceum Theater in San Diego.
Though I grew up in an immigrant European Jewish home I had very little experience with traditional Jewish music and wasn�t aware Klezmer music until, as an adult, I attended a small party in an old L.A loft. A band there produced music that I found familiar and foreign, joyous and melancholy, sounds that mysteriously and unexpectedly produced a sense of connection to my roots, a revelation. Some years later I attended a presentation of Carpati, a film by Yale Strom that involves the Carpathian mountain region that my family is from. After the film was shown, Yale performed some of the music from the film on his violin. I enjoyed both the film and the music and remember wishing that Yale had played more.
About a dozen years have past and I had an opportunity to hear Yale and his band at a folk music festival. The performance was terrific and it ultimately led me to acquire some recordings of his music and suggest to some friends that we attend his performance at the 8th Annual Klezmer Summit.
I was tremendously impressed with each and every musician�s ability and contribution to the whole. Their solos were terrific displays of musicianship and they combined to produce a complex blending of sound that evoked a wide range of emotions. In the constraints of theater seating I found my toes tapping furiously to the beat. I caught myself smiling non-stop throughout the performance but I also felt my throat constrict during sorrowful passages. At the core of all of this were the incredible evocative virtuosity of Yale�s fiddle playing and the amazing richness of Elizabeth Schwartz�s voice. Yale produced sounds that I had never heard produced by anything like a violin and he played with such clarity, inventiveness and technical proficiency that its hard to come up with the appropriate superlatives but breathtaking is a good hint. And Elizabeth, WOW, with a voice that could tear your heart out. A big voice that is capable of the most delicate tenderness, full bore earthiness, sultry and sexy and the anguish that I heard in my mothers voice when she described family members who had perished.
What a performance, I was moved and thinking about it hours later. Yale, Elizabeth and the other wonderful musicians that comprise Hot Pstromi produced for me the most significant musical experience since I was fortunate enough to see and hear Janis Joplin, Jimmie Hendrix and John Mayall at Winterland in San Francisco nearly forty years ago. That�s saying something as far as I�m concerned.
Bob Schneider, California, USA
Dear Yale and Elizabeth,
It was a great pleasure to attend your concert. In my opinion you've grasped the very essence of Klezmer music. To illustrate that I must refer to a Polish Klezmer trio Kroke - maybe you know them or have heard of them. They had numerous performances at the Festival of Jewish Culture in Cracow and have recorded some discs in the US. They are outstanding musicians, but perhaps too cultivated, too civilized for that kind of music. Klezmer requires a trace of madness, I hope you see what I mean. In your performace I coud hear both virtuosity and brilliant technique and at the same time one could feel savageness, madness almost right under the surface. Marvelous!
I am deeply impressed by Elizabeth's voice. There are very few female vocalists in Klezmer music, probably due to the fact, Klezmer has developed under influence of kantorial music and chassidic songs - both strictly masculine. I can only recall two female vocalists that made an impression on me: Chava Alberstein from Israel and Judy Dressler of Klezmer Conservatory Band. Elizabeth Schwartz is one of the klezmer vocalists at the top of the mountain.
I'm looking forward to next performance in Copenhagen while I'm listening to the recordigs of your music and so does my daughter.
Your fan from now on,
Nathan
nathan gurfinkel, , denmark
Dear Eliz, I was impressed by that song about a wedding which you sang in Stockholm in which your manifold talents met the arranger, vocalist and actress. Using just a few words in a simple text, you created a one-woman theatre. What a masterpiece! Thanks!
Violetta Reder, Poland
Violetta Reder, , Poland
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