Biography
Giora Feidman
Short biography
- One of the most famous Klezmer musicians in the world, also known as "The King of Klezmer"
- Approx. 150 concerts annually, 60% of them in Germany
- First successes in the early 1970s as a soloist in New York
- Since 1984 also successful in Central Europe with the Musical "Ghetto"
- Musical contributions to German movies: "Beyond Silence" (Caroline Link), Comedian Harmonists"(Joseph Vilsmaier)
- 1985: First LP in Germany "Viva el Klezmer"
- Over 40 CD releases and more in planning
- Numerous awards including Echo Klassik and Federal Cross of Merit for his services to the reconciliation between Jews and Germans
- Musical contribution to Steven Spielberg's Oscar-winning movie "Schindler's List"
- Concert at World Youth Day in Cologne in front of more than 800,000 spectators
A life like a song with ever changing verses
Even the greatest careers start out small. Giora Feidmans humble beginnings date back more than 70 years to his youth in Buenos Aires, the capital city of Argentina. There he is born on the 25th of March 1936 as the son of Jewish immigrants from Bessarabia (Moldavia / southern Ukraine). Music runs in his blood: His father is a musician, just like his grandfather.
"From the very beginning, from the day of my birth, songs have always accompanied me. It is the human voice, in almost every case, that is our first contact with music. A voice touches us with song, singing calms us, makes us happy. For me, it was the sound of the Yiddish songs that my mother sang for me when I was a very small boy - and later, as a young musician, it was the music of Schubert. I grew up with these widely varying sounds around me. I learned a great deal from both musical directions, and both remain very dear to me even today."
As a child Feidman learns to play the clarinet and begins to make music with his father.
Together they perform at various festivals and parties. At the age of only 18, he is given the position of clarinetist at the Teatro Colon, the most renowned opera house in South America.
"From the very beginning, from the day of my birth, songs have always accompanied me. It is the human voice, in almost every case, that is our first contact with music. A voice touches us with song, singing calms us, makes us happy. For me, it was the sound of the Yiddish songs that my mother sang for me when I was a very small boy - and later, as a young musician, it was the music of Schubert. I grew up with these widely varying sounds around me. I learned a great deal from both musical directions, and both remain very dear to me even today."
As a child Feidman learns to play the clarinet and begins to make music with his father.
Together they perform at various festivals and parties. At the age of only 18, he is given the position of clarinetist at the Teatro Colon, the most renowned opera house in South America.
"Now I found myself in Israel. I had finally come home."
In 1948, the founding of the state of Israel signified a dream come true for the Jewish people. The 2,000-year-old diaspora of homeless people, spread across the entire face of the earth, finally came to an end. Jews from every country flocked to Palestine.
In their spiritual luggage, they carried with them the heavy burden of bitter experiences and injuries. But with them also came some wonderful recollections from the host cultures in which they had lived for so many years - musical memories included. The concept of the "Melting Pot", typically used to describe the multicultural society of the United States of America, applies equally well to Israel.
In their spiritual luggage, they carried with them the heavy burden of bitter experiences and injuries. But with them also came some wonderful recollections from the host cultures in which they had lived for so many years - musical memories included. The concept of the "Melting Pot", typically used to describe the multicultural society of the United States of America, applies equally well to Israel.
Just like hundreds of thousands of other Jews, Feidman is magically drawn to the newly established state of Israel. In 1957, at the age of 21, he leaves Buenos Aires. After a long and tedious passage, he arrives in Haifa to finally enter the "Promised Land". Already in his pocket; a contract with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. The deal was arranged by Paul Kletzki, the conductor of the orchestra making Feidman the youngest clarinetist ever to play with the ensemble. He has no time to rest as his rehearsals begin immediately. He even has his first solo appearance during his first week playing in the orchestra.
Giora Feidman carefully absorbs his new surroundings: a cultural kaleidoscope of the most diversified colors, languages, traditions, and sounds, which now blend in this young Israel. The Yiddish songs of the Jews from Eastern Europe prove to be particularly influential. Feidman, who can speak neither Hebrew nor Yiddish and not even English upon his arrival in Israel, soaks up everything with vigor - and therein finds part of himself.
"Not until I actually set foot in Israel did I realize how important Jewish music would eventually become for me."
"Not until I actually set foot in Israel did I realize how important Jewish music would eventually become for me. There was no way I could have known then how much this music would one day alter and define both my life and my career as a musician. Jewish songs are an inseparable and integral part of Jewish culture and society. A tremendous spiritual profoundness is hidden in the simplicity of the melodies and, simultaneously, the Yiddish language is a powerful medium to articulate "life".
The clarinetist remains a faithful member of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra for the next 18 years and becomes an essential part of their numerous world tours. He performs in almost all of the world's major concert halls under some of the most prestigious conductors of our time, such as Leonard Bernstein, Karl Münch, Raffael Kubelik, John Barbirolli, and Eugene Ormandy, not to mention Zubin Mehta.
"Music is an all-encompassing language and the message is clear: We all belong to one big family of mankind."
The clarinetist remains a faithful member of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra for the next 18 years and becomes an essential part of their numerous world tours. He performs in almost all of the world's major concert halls under some of the most prestigious conductors of our time, such as Leonard Bernstein, Karl Münch, Raffael Kubelik, John Barbirolli, and Eugene Ormandy, not to mention Zubin Mehta.
"Music is an all-encompassing language and the message is clear: We all belong to one big family of mankind."
Klezmer, the language of the soul
The unique instrumental musical tradition of Central and Eastern European Jews is called "klezmer". Originally, the term referred to the musicians which would travel throughout the land. They would play in “Shtetls”, small villages with a large Jewish population at wedding ceremonies, feasts as well as dances. The emotional awareness of life that these homeless Eastern Europeans experienced alternated between one of melancholy, despair, and unbridled joy in the untroubled hours they had. These contradictory moods find expression in klezmer music. This music can be arousing, funny, and full of the joys of life, but it can also bring one to tears.
Over the course of years, the music of the emigrated Eastern European Jews, which they had passed on from one generation for centuries came to mix with the sounds of their new home: In the USA, it mixed with jazz; in Argentina, it mixed with tango. All of these melodious variations were now reuniting and blending in the new Jewish nation and they also included some Arabian elements. They became the songs of a people that were once again allowed to be a people, but one which first had to find its own identity.
Giora Feidman plunges deeply into this "Jewish Soul", taking on various influences and developing them further into his own interpretations. The clarinet proves to be the ideal instrument to do just that, to find expression in the realm of emotional nuances. He travels from one kibbutz to the next with his small group of musicians and simply performs. The true renaissance of the klezmer!
Over the course of years, the music of the emigrated Eastern European Jews, which they had passed on from one generation for centuries came to mix with the sounds of their new home: In the USA, it mixed with jazz; in Argentina, it mixed with tango. All of these melodious variations were now reuniting and blending in the new Jewish nation and they also included some Arabian elements. They became the songs of a people that were once again allowed to be a people, but one which first had to find its own identity.
Giora Feidman plunges deeply into this "Jewish Soul", taking on various influences and developing them further into his own interpretations. The clarinet proves to be the ideal instrument to do just that, to find expression in the realm of emotional nuances. He travels from one kibbutz to the next with his small group of musicians and simply performs. The true renaissance of the klezmer!
"Time and time again I was told that there is no audience for an artist, (...) to fill an entire evening concert program exclusively with Jewish music. "
In the early 1970s, Feidman leaves the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra to move to New York and work as a soloist. He enraptures the stages of the world, from London to Tokyo, with his klezmer interpretations. The well-known Jewish composer, Ora Bat Chaim, the protagonist of the rising klezmer movement in the 1960s, recalls:
“Time and time again I was told that there is no audience for an artist, regardless of how talented he or she may be, to fill an entire evening concert program exclusively with Jewish music. Oh, how wrong they were! My years of experience tell me that precisely Maestro Feidman's abilities as a musician and entertainer are responsible for doing just that. His innovative concerts were given "standing ovations" around the world - and that fact truly speaks for itself."
“Time and time again I was told that there is no audience for an artist, regardless of how talented he or she may be, to fill an entire evening concert program exclusively with Jewish music. Oh, how wrong they were! My years of experience tell me that precisely Maestro Feidman's abilities as a musician and entertainer are responsible for doing just that. His innovative concerts were given "standing ovations" around the world - and that fact truly speaks for itself."
Feidman's name soon becomes well-known – but not yet in Germany. That is to change quickly when the director Peter Zadek starts looking for a Jewish musician for his production of the musical "Ghetto" by Joshua Sobol in 1984. Through an Israeli colleague, Zadek listens to Giora Feidman's music and is thrilled. He immediately inquires if Feidman could send one of his clarinet students to Berlin. The master makes the journey himself.
The piece, with Esther Ofarim as the leading lady, debuts at the Berlin Playhouse and the German Theater in Hamburg and is instantly a huge success. Germany discovered Giora Feidman, just as the musician discovered the theatre.
The piece, with Esther Ofarim as the leading lady, debuts at the Berlin Playhouse and the German Theater in Hamburg and is instantly a huge success. Germany discovered Giora Feidman, just as the musician discovered the theatre.
"I consider music to be spiritual nourishment. Without this nourishment we simply couldn't survive. "
In 1985, early drafts of his first record "Viva El Klezmer" surface. During the following years, the number of records eventually grew to several dozen (see Discography). The clarinetist, who is just as multifaceted as he is keen to experiment, finds himself continually pushing off to new shores. This leads to the ever-rising number of people who eagerly and avidly accompany him - both in concert halls and in the comfort of their own home
In Feidman’s music the work of George Gershwin, as well as tangos from his Argentinean homeland can all be found. Symphonic works of contemporary Israeli composers (Ora Bat Chaim, Betty Olivero) later find their way into his repertoire, along with other classical works, including Mozart's clarinet concerts.
The concert stage has not been enough for him for a long time. Repeatedly, he finds his way back to theatrical works, musicals, operas, and films. Together with Itzak Perlman, he performs the soundtrack for Steven Spielberg's epic holocaust work "Schindler's List", which later is awarded an "Oscar" in 1994. His music can also be heard in "The Comedian Harmonists" and in "Beyond Silence". In 1995, he causes quite a furor with the dubbing of the silent movie classic "Golem", as he does in 2005 with his piece "Nothing but Music", a production in ten poetic images.
In Feidman’s music the work of George Gershwin, as well as tangos from his Argentinean homeland can all be found. Symphonic works of contemporary Israeli composers (Ora Bat Chaim, Betty Olivero) later find their way into his repertoire, along with other classical works, including Mozart's clarinet concerts.
The concert stage has not been enough for him for a long time. Repeatedly, he finds his way back to theatrical works, musicals, operas, and films. Together with Itzak Perlman, he performs the soundtrack for Steven Spielberg's epic holocaust work "Schindler's List", which later is awarded an "Oscar" in 1994. His music can also be heard in "The Comedian Harmonists" and in "Beyond Silence". In 1995, he causes quite a furor with the dubbing of the silent movie classic "Golem", as he does in 2005 with his piece "Nothing but Music", a production in ten poetic images.
Feidman remains modest and has not earned fame as a noted orator. Instead, he rather lets his clarinet do the talking. Moreover, he functions as an ambassador of sorts, by building bridges between people and cultures. Together with members of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, he performed the world premiere, of Ora Bat Chaim's composition "Love". The performance was part of the ceremony to commemorate the millions of victims of the National Socialist regime and took place in the plenary hall of the German Federal Parliament in January 2000. In honor of his special achievements concerning the reconciliation between the Germans and the Jews, he was awarded the Great Cross of Merit with ribbon in 2001 in Berlin.
Today, the virtuoso Feidman is a personality of contemporary history. Henceforth, he was invited by Pope Benedict XVI to play at the vigil on World Youth Day in Cologne, Germany in August 2005 – in front of an audience of more than 800,000 people.
Today, the virtuoso Feidman is a personality of contemporary history. Henceforth, he was invited by Pope Benedict XVI to play at the vigil on World Youth Day in Cologne, Germany in August 2005 – in front of an audience of more than 800,000 people.
"I don't play the clarinet. I am a singer. I sing through my instrument."
"I don't play the clarinet. I am a singer", Giora Feidman said. "I sing through my instrument." During the long song of his life, the first tunes of which were sounded in South America and which have guided him across all of the earth's continents, many, many verses have come together. And the number is still increasing. It is a timeless, very emotional song that doesn't need any texts. People listen with enthusiasm and their souls sing along.