Yale Strom
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Yale Strom is an
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
violinist, composer, filmmaker, writer, photographer and playwright. Strom is a pioneer among
klezmer Klezmer ( yi, קלעזמער 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 l ...
(musical tradition of the
Ashkenazi Jews Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...
of
Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...
) revivalists in conducting extensive field research in Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkans among the Jewish and Romani communities since 1981. Initially, his work focused primarily on the use and performance of klezmer music between these two groups. Gradually, his focus increased to examining all aspects of their culture, from post-World War II to the present. He was among the first of the klezmer revivalists to identify the connection between klezmer and lautare (Roma/Gypsy musicians) and explore that connection in his scholarly and artistic works. In the more than three decades since his initial ethnographic trip, Strom has become one of the world's most productive and influential scholar-artists of klezmer culture and history.


Career


Music

Yale Strom's klezmer field research helped form the base for the repertoires of his klezmer band
Hot Pstromi Yale Strom and Hot Pstromi is a U.S.-based klezmer ensemble that was started in 1982. The original line up was Strom (violin), Andy Statman (clarinet and mandolin), Mark Dresser (bass), Ismail Butera (accordion) and Seido Salifoski (percussion). ...
based in NYC and San Dieg
Hotpstromi.com
/ref> Since Strom's first band began in 1981, he has been composing his own New Jewish music, which combines klezmer with Hasidic nigunim, Romani, jazz, classical, Balkan and Sephardic motifs. These compositions range from string quartets to a symphony, which premiered with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and his solo violin composition called "Bessarabia Suite" that was commissioned by Rachel Barton Pine. He composed original music for the Denver Center production of Tony Kushner's "The Dybbuk". He composed all the New Jewish music for the
National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...
series "Fiddlers, Philosophers & Fools: Jewish Short Stories From the Old World to the New", hosted by
Leonard Nimoy Leonard Simon Nimoy (; March 26, 1931 – February 27, 2015) was an American actor, famed for playing Spock in the ''Star Trek'' franchise for almost 50 years. This includes originating Spock in the original ''Star Trek'' series in 1966, then ...
, as well as numerous film scores. List of CD recordings: "Cholent With Huckleberry" (Rounder, 1985), "Eclectic Klezz" (Rounder/Global Village, 1987), "With A Little Horseradish on the Side" (Global Village, 1993 - featuring original Hot Pstromi lineup of Strom,
Andy Statman Andy Statman (born 1950) is a noted American klezmer clarinetist and bluegrass/newgrass mandolinist. Life and career Statman was born in New York City and grew up in the borough of Queens. Beginning at age 12, he learned to play banjo and gui ...
, Mark Dresser, Ismail Butera and Seido Salifoski), "The Last Klezmer" (Global Village, 1994), "Carpati: 50 Miles, 50 Years" (Global Village, 1996), "Wandering Jew" (Global Village, 1997),"Tales Our Father Sang" (Global Village, 1998), "Garden of Yidn" (Naxos World, 2000) "Cafe Jew Zoo" (Naxos World, 2002), "Dveykes/Adhesion" (Global Village, 2005) "Absolutely Complete Klezmer" (Transcontinental Music, 2006), "Borsht with Bread, Brothers" (
ARC Music ARC Music is a world music and folk music label based in West Sussex, England, that was established in 1976. Naxos acquired ARC in 2019. Film and television ARC Music has been used in the films ''Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crysta ...
UK, 2007), "Absolutely Klezmer, Vol. II" (Transcontinental, 2007), "The Devil's Brides: Music from The Witches of Lublin" (
ARC Music ARC Music is a world music and folk music label based in West Sussex, England, that was established in 1976. Naxos acquired ARC in 2019. Film and television ARC Music has been used in the films ''Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crysta ...
UK, 2011, featuring narration by actress Miriam Margolyes). "City of the Future" (ARC Music), UK 2016 featuring Yiddish vocalists: Daniel Kahn, Jack "Yankl" Falk, Michael Alpert, Anthony Russell, Vira Lozinsky, Judy Bressler and Elizabeth Schwartz, and "Yale Strom's Broken Consort: Shimmering Lights" (ARC Music), UK 2018 featuring: Sara Caswell, Amos Hoffman, David Wallace and Alex Greenbaum as guests with Hot Pstromi (Fred Benedetti, Jeff Pekarek, Elizabeth Schwartz and Yale Strom). Strom has performed with many well-known musicians including
Andy Statman Andy Statman (born 1950) is a noted American klezmer clarinetist and bluegrass/newgrass mandolinist. Life and career Statman was born in New York City and grew up in the borough of Queens. Beginning at age 12, he learned to play banjo and gui ...
, Mark Dresser, Marty Ehrlich, Mark O’Connor, Alicia Svigals,
Salman Ahmad Salman Ahmad ( ur, , born 12 December 1963) is a Pakistani born-American musician, rock guitarist, physician, activist, occasional actor and professor at the City University of New York. He earned nationwide popularity in 1998 for his uni ...
,
Samir Chatterjee Samir (variantly spelled Sameer) is a male name found commonly in the Middle East, Central Asia and Europe. In Arabic, Samir () means holy, jovial, loyal or charming. In Albanian, it translates literally as “so good” but the connotation is clo ...
, Muzsikas,
Kálmán Balogh Kálmán Balogh (born 18 January 1959) is a Hungarian cimbalom player and leader of Kalman Balogh's Gypsy Cimbalom Band. History Balogh is a Hungarian cimbalom player part of a lineage of Hungarian Gypsy musicians. A graduate of Franz Liszt ...
, Damian Draghici, Marta Sebestyen, Tanya Kalmanovitch, Sara Caswell, Peter Sprague, Gilbert Castellanos, Peter Stan, Norber Stachel,
Theo Bikel Theodore Meir Bikel ( ; May 2, 1924 – July 21, 2015) was an Austrian-American actor, folk singer, musician, composer, unionist, and political activist. He appeared in films, including '' The African Queen'' (1951), ''Moulin Rouge'' (1952), ' ...
and myriad others. Strom has been hailed as "a commanding bandleader and composer" (''
Pulse! Magazine ''Pulse!'' was a tabloid magazine published by Tower Records (under the direction of VP of Publishing Mike Farrace) which contained record reviews, interviews and advertising. History and profile ''Pulse!'' was started in 1983. The magazine was p ...
''), "one of the best klezmer musicians in the country" (Houston Public News) and "an all-around musical visionary" (Seth Rogovoy). ''
Dirty Linen ''Dirty Linen'' was a bi-monthly magazine of folk and world music based in Baltimore, Maryland. The magazine ceased publication in the spring of 2010. The magazine offered extensive reviews of folk music recordings, videos, books, and concert ...
'' sums it up most concisely: "Yale Strom is a Jewish roots trip unto himself". The New York Jewish Week writes:
"He's a gifted photographer and author, a talented documentary filmmaker and has his own klezmer band... Strom's multifaceted career is a wonder, and his work schedule is downright fiendish."


Books

Strom's research has also resulted in nine books (including "The Last Jews of Eastern Europe" and "Uncertain Roads: Searching for the Gypsies". He was the first photographer since
Roman Vishniac Roman Vishniac (; russian: link=no, Рома́н Соломо́нович Вишня́к; August 19, 1897 – January 22, 1990) was a Russian-American photographer, best known for capturing on film the culture of Jews in Central and Eastern Euro ...
to publish photographs of Jews in the Eastern Bloc countries. His "The Book of Klezmer: The History, The Music, The Folklore", a 400-page history with original photos and sheet music gathered by Yale during his 60+ ethnographic trips to Central and Eastern Europe, was published by A Cappella Books in September, 2002; this was soon followed by the publication of the world's first "Music Minus One" Instructional Guide to Klezmer (Universal Edition, Vienna Austria, April 2004). Strom's most recent book, written in collaboration with his wife,
Elizabeth Schwartz Elizabeth Schwartz is an American vocalist, concentrating on klezmer music and the Romanian Yiddish dialect. She primarily records with her husband Yale Strom and Hot Pstromi but has collaborated in performance and recordings with notable mu ...
, is "A Wandering Feast: A Journey Through the Jewish Culture of Eastern Europe" (Jossey-Bass Publishers, January 2005). Strom's book "The Absolute Complete Klezmer Songbook" (2006, Transcontinental Music) comes with a CD as well called Absolutely Klezmer Vol I and contains 313 known and rare klezmer melodies, many of which were collected by Strom during his years of field research. His first children's book "The Wedding That Saved a Town", illustrated by Jenya Prosmitsky, was published by
Kar-Ben Publishing Kar-Ben Publishing, an award-winning children’s book publisher providing a growing Jewish library for children, is a division of Minneapolis-based Lerner Publishing Group. Similar publishers that also specialize in the genre include: Apples & H ...
in 2008 and won the San Diego Library Association's Best Illustrated Children's book award in 2009. His biography of klezmer clarinetist David Tarras, "Dave Tarras: The King of Klezmer" (Or-Tav Publications, 2010) is the first full biography of Tarras, authorized by the Tarras family and includes 28 Tarras melodies, many of which have never before been published or recorded, as well as rare family archival photos and biographical details. Strom's second children's illustrated book is called "Shloyml Boyml and His Lucky Dreydl," illustrated by Emil Fuer-Singer. It is a bilingual book in English and Yiddish published by Olniansky Tekst Farlag (2021). Another in the Shloyml Boyml series "Sholyml Boyml and His Purim Adventure comes out spring 2023.


Film

Strom has directed five award-winning documentary films (''At the Crossroads'', ''The Last Klezmer'', ''Carpati: 50 Miles, 50 Years'', ''
L'Chayim, Comrade Stalin! ''L'Chayim, Comrade Stalin!'' is a 2002 documentary film directed by Yale Strom and narrated by Ron Perlman. Overview A documentary film on Joseph Stalin's creation of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast and its partial settlement by thousands of Russi ...
'' and ''Klezmer on Fish Street'') and has composed music for others. He was the first documentary filmmaker in history to be given his own run at Lincoln Center's prestigious Walter Reade Theatre, where ''The Last Klezmer'' broke box office records; this record was only exceeded by ''Carpati'''s run there. Both films went on to strong theatrical runs both in the U.S. and abroad, and were featured on major Top Ten Lists (The Last Klezmer on the N.Y. Post's for 1994, and ''Carpati'' on the San Diego Union Tribune's for 1997). ''The Last Klezmer'' was short-listed for an Academy Award. ''Klezmer on Fish Street'' won the 2003 Palm Beach International Film Festival's Special Jury Selection award. His documentary ''A Man From Munkacs: The Gypsy Klezmer'' was produced by Duna Television (Budapest, Hungary). Two edits exist, the producer's cut to be shown exclusively in Hungary, and the director's cut for other countries. In 2007, Strom curated an event in New York City, ''A Great Day on Eldridge Street'', a photo shoot (by photographer Leo Sorel) of over 100 of the world's leading klezmer and Yiddish artists (based on the iconic photos "A Great Day in Harlem"), a parade through the Lower East Side and concerts. Strom's short film, ''A Great Day on Eldridge Street'', documents these events. Strom in 2011 directed "A letter to Wedgewood: The Life of Gabriella Auspitz Harstein" which examines Jewish life in pre-war Mukacevo, Czechoslovakia, the rivalry between the Khasidim and Zionists and how Gabriella was saved by Lord Wedgewood from the Holocaust. In 2018 Strom directed "American Socialist: The Life and Times of Eugene Victor Debs" which examines the life of socialist and labor/union organizer Eugene Debs. It won "Best Feature Documentary" in the 2017 Workers Unite Film Festival in NYC.


Photo exhibitions

Strom's solo photo exhibit, "The Rom of Ridgewood", about Gypsy communities in Queens, New York, was mounted at the
Queens Museum of Art The Queens Museum, formerly the Queens Museum of Art, is an art museum and educational center located in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in the borough of Queens in New York City, United States. The museum was founded in 1972, and has among its p ...
; he has had numerous solo exhibits (depicting Jewish and Rom life) throughout the U.S. and Europe (complete exhibition list upon request). His solo exhibit of portraits of klezmer musicians (Jewish and Roma) in Bessarabia, "Klezmorim", was exhibited in Romania and Hungary. This same exhibition just recently was at the Jewish Community Center in Houston. His photos are part of many collections including Beth Hatefusoth, The Skirball Museum, The Jewish Museum of NYC, The Frankfurt Jewish Museum and the Museum of Photographic Arts. The Anne Frank Center in NYC created an exhibit of his photos called "Fragments: Jewish Life in Eastern Europe 1981-2016." The exhibit has been seen in Kalamazoo, Prague Jewish Museum and Brno Jewish Museum.


Plays

Strom's original stage play, "…from man… to beast… to crawling thing…", was given a fully staged workshop in June 2001 by the Streisand Festival (La Jolla, California). His play, "The Education of Hershl Greenshpan" (formerly, "Verdigris") was workshopped by the San Diego Rep, North Coast Rep as well as in New York City, Connecticut and Los Angeles. Strom was featured in the May 31, 2004 issue of ''Time'' for this play, and the scholarship behind it. In collaboration with wife and partner
Elizabeth Schwartz Elizabeth Schwartz is an American vocalist, concentrating on klezmer music and the Romanian Yiddish dialect. She primarily records with her husband Yale Strom and Hot Pstromi but has collaborated in performance and recordings with notable mu ...
and author Ellen Kushner, Strom co-wrote the audio drama, "The Witches of Lublin" (2011), starring Tovah Feldshuh, and featuring Simon Jones, Barbara Rosenblat and Neil Gaiman, among others. He also composed the original music for the recording. His second radio/audio drama is "Debs in Canton" (2021) directed by Sue Zizza and written by Elizabeth Schwartz and Yale Strom, with music by Strom. The drama stars: Phil Proctor, P. J. Ochlan, L. J. Ganser, Robert Fass, Anne Bobby, Doug Shapiro, Micah Gellert, Melinda Peterson and won Six Communicator Awards including best written drama.


Lectures and teaching

Strom has lectured extensively throughout the United States, Asia and Europe and taught at the
Gallatin School of Individualized Study The Gallatin School of Individualized Study (commonly referred to as Gallatin) is a small interdisciplinary college within New York University (NYU). Students at Gallatin design an interdisciplinary program that meets their specific interests a ...
at
NYU New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...
for 4 years, where he created the course "Artist-Ethnographer Expeditions". Strom was Artist-in-Residence in the Jewish Studies Program at
San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...
, a position created for him to 2020. Strom was the first klezmer violinist in history to be invited to instruct master classes at both the
American String Teachers Association The American String Teachers Association (ASTA) is a professional organization for bowed string music teachers based in the United States. It is the largest organization in the U.S. for string teachers. ASTA serves teachers and students in all are ...
and the
Mark O'Connor Mark O'Connor (born August 5, 1961) is an American fiddle player and composer whose music combines bluegrass, country, jazz and classical. A three-time Grammy Award winner, he has won six Country Music Association Musician Of The Year awards ...
fiddle camp. Currently Strom teaches in the Music Dept. at SDSU.


References


External links


Review: ‘Klezmer On Fish Street’, ''Variety'', April 16, 2004Yale Strom Interview - NAMM Oral History Library (2016)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Strom, Yale Klezmer musicians American male violinists Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American violinists 21st-century American male musicians