Arnold Perlmutter portrait from Klangen fun mayn lebn

Arnold Perlmutter ( yi, אַרנאָלד פּערלמוטער, 1859–1953) was a composer for

Yiddish theatre Yiddish theatre consists of plays written and performed primarily by Jews in Yiddish, the language of the Central European Ashkenazi Jewish community. The range of Yiddish theatre is broad: operetta, musical comedy, and satiric or nostalgic revues ...

, born in

Zolochiv Zolochiv, ( ua, Золочів) may refer to the following places in Ukraine: * Zolochiv, Lviv Oblast, city in Lviv Oblast * Zolochiv, Kharkiv Oblast, urban-type settlement in Ukraine {{set index, populated places in Ukraine ...

, Galicia,

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

. He moved to

Lemberg Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in Western Ukraine, western Ukraine, and the List of cities in Ukraine, seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is o ...

where he received both a religious and a secular education in Polish, Ukrainian, and German. He sang with then-famous

hazzan A ''hazzan'' (; , lit. Hazan) or ''chazzan'' ( he, חַזָּן , plural ; Yiddish ''khazn''; Ladino ''Hasan'') is a Jewish musician or precentor trained in the vocal arts who helps lead the congregation in songful prayer. In English, this pr ...

Borekh Shor's chorus until his voice changed, then became a klezmer, playing bass and then violin and directing and composing for the ''Harmonia'' orchestra, which in 1889 was taken into I. B. Gimpel's Yiddish theater in Lemberg; he wrote the music for the operetta ''Rabbi Akiva and his students.'' and ''Der Spanisher Tsigayner (The Spanish Gypsy)''.Leksikon fun Yidishn Teater, Volume 3, column 1838 In 1891

Abraham Goldfaden Abraham Goldfaden (Yiddish: אַבֿרהם גאָלדפֿאַדען; born Avrum Goldnfoden; 24 July 1840 – 9 January 1908), also known as Avram Goldfaden, was a Russian-born Jewish poet, playwright, stage director and actor in the languages Yid ...

came to Lemberg to stage his ''Meshiakh tsaytn (Messiah times)'' and ''Dos tsente gebot (The Tenth Commandment)''; Perlmutter orchestrated and reworked Goldfaden's collected musical numbers and composed new ones for his productions. He then toured with the Treytler and Yuvelir troupes throughout Galitsia, Romania (1893-1895) and Russia (1899). From Chernovitz, Bukovina, in 1900 Professor Moyshe Horvitz (Hurwitz) took the whole troupe to America. Perlmutter met his longtime collaborator

Herman Wohl Herman Wohl ( yi, הערמאַן װאָהל, 1877–1936) was a Jewish–American composer closely associated with the American Yiddish Theatre. Galicia Wohl was born in Otyniia near Stanislavov (now called Ivano-Frankivsk) in eastern Galicia, ...

in New York's Windsor Theater and they wrote for dozens of Hurwitz's operettas as well as ''Di almoneh (The widow)'' and ''A mentsh zol men zayn (One should be a righteous person)'' by Anshel Schorr. In 1906 Perlmutter and Wohl composed the music for a romantic drama in English, ''The Shepherd King''; in 1909,

Boris Thomashefsky Boris Thomashefsky (russian: Борис Пинхасович Томашевский, sometimes written Thomashevsky, Thomaschevsky, etc.; yi, באָריס טאָמאשעבסקי) (1868–1939), born Boruch-Aharon Thomashefsky, was a Ukrainian-b ...

's ''Dos Pintele Yid'' and ''Di sheyne Amerikanerin;'' and for scores of other historical operettas of the Second Avenue

Yiddish Theater District The Yiddish Theatre District, also called the Jewish Rialto and the Yiddish Realto, was the center of New York City's Yiddish theatre scene in the early 20th century. It was located primarily on Second Avenue, though it extended to Avenue B, b ...

theaters through the early years of the twentieth century. After the partnership dissolved Perlmutter worked alone, composing for

Maurice Schwartz Maurice Schwartz, born Avram Moishe Schwartz (June 18, 1890 – May 10, 1960),I. L. Peretz Isaac Leib Peretz ( pl, Icchok Lejbusz Perec, yi, יצחק־לייבוש פרץ) (May 18, 1852 – April 3, 1915), also sometimes written Yitskhok Leybush Peretz was a Polish Jewish writer and playwright writing in Yiddish. Payson R. Stevens, Cha ...

's ''Di goldene keyt (The golden chain)''. In 1922 he contracted with the Lennox Theater in the Bronx (directors Nathan Goldberg and Jacob Jacobs). He wrote the music for dozens of productions until he retired from theater in 1930.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perlmutter, Arnold 1859 births 1953 deaths Jewish composers Musicians from Lviv