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Joseph Moskowitz (, 1879 – June 1954) was an American
cimbalom The cimbalom, cimbal (; ) or concert cimbalom is a type of chordophone composed of a large, trapezoidal box on legs with metal strings stretched across its top and a damping pedal underneath. It was designed and created by József Schunda, V. ...
player, composer, restaurant owner and recording artist in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
during the first half of the twentieth century. A descendant of a family of
klezmer Klezmer ( or ) is an instrumental musical tradition of the Ashkenazi Jews of Central and Eastern Europe. The essential elements of the tradition include dance tunes, ritual melodies, and virtuosic improvisations played for listening; these wou ...
musicians, he was among the most well-known American cimbalom players of his time, and had a wide repertoire which included not only Jewish music but also Romanian, classical, and ragtime music. He is thought to have composed over 100 cimbalom pieces which drew upon various musical influences. His restaurant Moskowitz & Lupowitz, on Second Avenue also became a popular destination and celebrity hangout in the 1920s and 1930s.


Biography


Early life

Moskowitz was born in
Galați Galați ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names) is the capital city of Galați County in the historical region of Western Moldavia, in eastern Romania. Galați is a port town on the river Danube. and the sixth-larges ...
, Romania, in July 1879. His father Moses Moskowitz (nicknamed Moshe Tsimbler) was a
klezmer Klezmer ( or ) is an instrumental musical tradition of the Ashkenazi Jews of Central and Eastern Europe. The essential elements of the tradition include dance tunes, ritual melodies, and virtuosic improvisations played for listening; these wou ...
musician and cimbalom player who was Joseph's first teacher. Joseph learned the cimbalom as well as the violin from his father. Another relative, Joseph's cousin nicknamed Jonah Tsimbler (Diamant) also became a cimbalom player. Joseph was a childhood friend of the writer
Konrad Bercovici Konrad Bercovici (June 22, 1882 Together, they emigrated to North America. After some time in Montréal, Canada, the family settled on the Lower East Side, Manhattan, New York City. To make ends meet Bercovici worked in sweatshops, gave piano les ...
, also born in Galați. As a youth, Joseph toured
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
,
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
, Galicia, and
Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
, and played on river boats on the
Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...
. He apparently toured and performed with
Broder singer The ''Broderzinger'' () or Broder singers, from Brody in Ukraine, were Jewish itinerant performers in Austrian Galicia, Romania, and Russia, professional or semiprofessional songwriters and performers, who from at least the early 19th century sang ...
troupes as well. He emigrated to the United States in December 1907 with his wife Rebecca, sailing from
Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...
.


Music and restaurant career

Moskowitz's original reason to travel to the United States was apparently an invitation to perform in
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
. After making appearances in cafés there and in New York, Moskowitz toured the United States for the next five years, often with the Matus Gypsy Ensemble or in hotel orchestras. That tour apparently did a lot to develop what would become his style and repertoire, which came to include not only Jewish and Romanian music but also international cosmopolitan repertoire and contemporary American music. At some point between 1909 and 1913 (sources disagree), he opened a restaurant, the ''Moskowitz Wine Cellar'', on Rivington Street in
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
's
Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Historically, it w ...
. His wife was the cook. This restaurant was a narrow cellar lit by gas lamps, with pastoral Romanian scenes painted on the wall, where up to a hundred customers smoked and drank wine while listening to his playing. He became a
Naturalized citizen of the United States Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constit ...
in March 1915. His recording career began in 1916, a time when the "ethnic" recording industry in New York was expanding aggressively. He recorded roughly 30 sides for
Victor Records The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer, incorporated in 1901. Victor was an independent enterprise until 1929 when it was purchased by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) and became ...
in 1916-7, including especially
Romanian music Romania has a multicultural music environment which includes active ethnic music scenes. Traditional Romanian folk music remains popular, and some folk musicians have come to national (and even international) fame. History Folk music is the ...
, but also
ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that had its peak from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its Syncopation, syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers ...
,
klezmer Klezmer ( or ) is an instrumental musical tradition of the Ashkenazi Jews of Central and Eastern Europe. The essential elements of the tradition include dance tunes, ritual melodies, and virtuosic improvisations played for listening; these wou ...
, and various European and South American pieces. His recordings from that era were all made with piano accompaniment, usually by Max Yussim, who he occasionally performed in concert with as well. His wide performing repertoire and deep knowledge of Romanian music also apparently influenced other Jewish recording artists in the New York area, such as
Dave Tarras Dave Tarras (c. 1895 – February 13, 1989) was a Russian Empire, Ukrainian-born American klezmer clarinetist and bandleader, who was instrumental in the Klezmer revival. Biography Early life Tarras was born David Tarasiuk in Teplyk, Ukraine and ...
. He soon relocated to Houston Street and opened ''Little Rumania''. The restaurant became quite popular, especially among Romanian Jews and young writers, and was soon expanded into the adjoining cellar to make room for the growing clientele. There, Moskowitz played his instrument, often sharing the stage with top violinists and pianists.
Stephen Graham Stephen Graham (born 3 August 1973) is an English actor and film producer. He began his career in 1990, with early notable roles in '' Snatch'' (2000) and ''Gangs of New York'' (2002), before his breakthrough role as Andrew "Combo" Gascoigne ...
, a British writer who spent time in New York in the 1920s, wrote an account of a night he spent in ''Little Rumania''. He said that earlier in the evening, Moskowitz circulated among the guests while a singer and pianist performed Yiddish and American numbers. Then, when the place was full, Moskowitz got on stage and performed various European folk numbers (Romanian, Hungarian, Russian, French) as well as some light classical music by Tchaikovsky and Brahms. It was only much later in the night that he would play dance tunes which were danced by a group of Jewish men. He later opened a new restaurant on Second Avenue at Second Street called Moskowitz & Lupowitz. This new upscale restaurant began to attract celebrities, bohemians, and writers, including
Jascha Heifetz Jascha Heifetz (; December 10, 1987) was a Russian-American violinist, widely regarded as one of the greatest violinists of all time. Born in Vilnius, he was soon recognized as a child prodigy and was trained in the Russian classical violin styl ...
,
Eddie Cantor Eddie Cantor (born Isidore Itzkowitz; January 31, 1892 – October 10, 1964) was an American comedian, actor, dancer, singer, songwriter, film producer, screenwriter and author. Cantor was one of the prominent entertainers of his era. Some of h ...
,
Sid Caesar Isaac Sidney Caesar (September 8, 1922 – February 12, 2014) was an American comic actor and comedian. With a career spanning 60 years, he was best known for two pioneering 1950s live television series: ''Your Show of Shows'' (1950–1954) ...
,
Mischa Elman Mischa (Mikhail Saulovich) Elman (; January 20, 1891April 5, 1967) was a Russian-American violinist famed for his passionate style, beautiful tone, and impeccable artistry and musicality. Early life Moses or Moishe Elman was born to a Jewish fa ...
,
Joseph Pulitzer Joseph Pulitzer ( ; born , ; April 10, 1847 – October 29, 1911) was a Hungarian-American politician and a newspaper publisher of the ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' and the ''New York World''. He became a leading national figure in the U.S. Democ ...
, Abraham Reisen and
H. L. Mencken Henry Louis Mencken (September 12, 1880 – January 29, 1956) was an American journalist, essayist, satirist, cultural critic, and scholar of American English. He commented widely on the social scene, literature, music, prominent politicians, ...
. He continued to entertain his patrons with his music performances late into the night, as they ate the hearty Romanian Jewish cuisine. In the 1920s Moskowitz regularly performed on the radio in the New York area, on stations such as WGBS, WEAF, and the WJZ network. These were often solo performances, but also often included accompaniment by his longtime pianist Max Yussim. The music he played on the radio often consisted of classical works or his own arrangements of Russian, Romanian and Jewish folk music. He also came to the attention of
Samuel Roxy Rothafel Samuel Lionel "Roxy" Rothafel (July 9, 1882 – January 13, 1936) was an American theatrical impresario and entrepreneur. He is noted for developing the lavish presentation of silent films in the deluxe movie palace theaters of the 1910s and 1 ...
and became an occasional featured artist of his popular "Roxy and the Gang" series. Moskowitz appeared on stage regularly in this era as well, including at
Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...
and New York's Town Hall. Joseph remarried in March 1924 to his second wife Rose. Although he recorded occasionally in the early 1920s, his next major phase of recording seems to have been in 1927-8, when he recorded a few more solo records and around 10 klezmer and Romanian pieces with Alexander Olshanetsky's orchestra on
Brunswick Records Brunswick Records is an American record label founded in 1916. History 1916–1929 Records under the Brunswick label were first produced by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, a company based in Dubuque, Iowa which had been manufacturing ...
, featuring
Shloimke Beckerman Shloimke Beckerman (c. 1884–1974) also known as Samuel Beckerman, was a klezmer clarinetist and bandleader in New York City in the early twentieth century; he was a contemporary of Dave Tarras and Naftule Brandwein. He was the father of Sid Bec ...
on clarinet. In the 1930s, Moskowitz continued to operate his restaurant and perform. He seems to have toured in
Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
in 1936. He is thought to have made an uncredited appearance playing his cimbalom in two restaurant scenes in
Joseph Seiden Joseph Seiden (; 1892–1974) was a pioneering American Yiddish language film producer of the early twentieth century. He released a large number of low-budget, sentimental Yiddish dramas during the 1930s and 1940s. He also directed '' Paradise in ...
's 1939
Yiddish language Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...
talkie (The Living Orphan). Moskowitz finally left New York in around 1940. He had a dispute with Lupowitz and decide to sell his share in the restaurant. Louis Anzelowitz, who had been a butcher in the restaurant, bought Joseph's shares and eventually became the sole owner, operating it until 1966. Under the new management, the restaurant kept the Moskowitz & Lupowitz name and continued to attract celebrities. After leaving New York, Moskowitz lived in
Akron, Ohio Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Akron metr ...
starting in around 1940, playing concerts at the Jewish Center there and in the Romany Restaurant. He also continued to compose new music while in Akron, sometimes under the name Joseph Moss. By 1943, he left Akron and relocated to
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
In Washington, Joseph played regularly at Michel's French Restaurant near
Dupont Circle Dupont Circle is a historic roundabout park and Neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., neighborhood of Washington, D.C., located in Northwest (Washington, D.C.), Northwest D.C. The Dupont Circle neighborhood is bounded approximately by 16th St ...
from 1943 until his death. His final recording session in Washington in 1953 was released as a 10-inch record, ''Cymbalom Melodies'', on Romany Records. It was recorded at Michel's Restaurant with Bela Hargy accompanying him on piano, and consisted mainly of Romanian music. (Selections from that album, along with many of his earlier recordings, were reissued by Rounder Records in 1996 on the cd ''The Art Of The Cymbalom: The Music Of Joseph Moskowitz 1916–1953'') He died of heart problems at
George Washington University Hospital The George Washington University Hospital (GWUH) is a short-stay hospital in Washington, D.C. affiliated with the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Since 2022, the hospital has been wholly owned and operated ...
in Washington, D.C., on June 27, 1954; he was 76 years old. He was buried in the Mount Lebanon Cemetery in
Adelphi, Maryland Adelphi is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. Per the 2020 Census, the population was 16,823. Adelphi includes the following subdivisions; Adelphi, Adelphi Park, Adelphi Hills, ...
.


Popular culture

Moskowitz and his restaurant appeared in a number of memoirs and novels in his time, including ''New York Nights'' (1927) by
Stephen Graham Stephen Graham (born 3 August 1973) is an English actor and film producer. He began his career in 1990, with early notable roles in '' Snatch'' (2000) and ''Gangs of New York'' (2002), before his breakthrough role as Andrew "Combo" Gascoigne ...
, '' Jews without Money'' (1930) by
Mike Gold Michael Gold (April 12, 1893 – May 14, 1967) was the pen-name of Jewish-American writer Itzhok Isaak Granich. A lifelong communist, Gold was a novelist, journalist, magazine editor, newspaper columnist, playwright, and literary critic. His se ...
, ''Dust of New York'' (1919) by his childhood friend
Konrad Bercovici Konrad Bercovici (June 22, 1882 Together, they emigrated to North America. After some time in Montréal, Canada, the family settled on the Lower East Side, Manhattan, New York City. To make ends meet Bercovici worked in sweatshops, gave piano les ...
, and (1963) by Chaver-Paver (Gershon Aynbinder). Moskowitz claimed to have composed over 100 pieces during his life, although it is unclear how many were adaptations of existing folk melodies. During the
Klezmer revival Klezmer ( or ) is an instrumental musical tradition of the Ashkenazi Jews of Central and Eastern Europe. The essential elements of the tradition include dance tunes, ritual melodies, and virtuosic improvisations played for listening; these wou ...
of the late 1970s and 1980s, there was renewed interest in finding, reissuing and reinterpreting old recordings of Jewish music. Interpretations of his recordings and compositions were made by groups such as the
Klezmer Conservatory Band The Klezmer Conservatory Band is a Boston-based group which performs traditional klezmer music; it was formed by Hankus Netsky of the New England Conservatory, New England Conservatory of Music in 1980. Originally formed for a single concert, they ...
, The Klezmatics and the Flying Bulgar Klezmer Band. Moskowitz's original tracks also appeared on a number of reissue compilations over the years, including ''Classic Ragtime'' (RCA Victor/BMG, 1998), ''Klezmer Pioneers: European and American Recordings, 1905-1952'' (Rounder Records, 1993), ''From Avenue A to the Great White Way'' (Columbia Records, 2002), ''Klezmer Music: Early Yiddish Instrumental Music: 1908-1927'' (Arhoolie Records, 1997), as well as an entire reissue CD dedicated to his recordings: ''The Art of the Cymbalum'' (Rounder Records, 1996).


References


External links


Joseph Moskowitz recordings
in the
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...
collection
Remembering Joseph Moskowitz
on KlezmerShack
29 Joseph Moskowitz recordings
in the Mayrent Collection at the
University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

1940 menu
from The Moskowitz & Lupowitz Restaurant in
New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second-largest public library in the United States behind the Library of Congress a ...
digital collection {{DEFAULTSORT:Moskowitz, Joseph 1879 births 1954 deaths People from Galați Romanian Jews Klezmer musicians Cimbalom players Victor Records artists Brunswick Records artists American restaurateurs Romanian emigrants to the United States