Giora Feidman
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Giora Feidman (; born 25 March 1936) is an Argentine-born Israeli
clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...
ist who specializes in
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 ...
music.


Biography

Giora Feidman was born in
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
,
Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
, where his
Bessarabia Bessarabia () is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Bessarabia lies within modern-day Moldova, with the Budjak region covering the southern coa ...
n Jewish parents immigrated to escape persecution. Feidman comes from a family of klezmer musicians. His father, grandfather and great-grandfather made music for weddings,
bar mitzvah A ''bar mitzvah'' () or ''bat mitzvah'' () is a coming of age ritual in Judaism. According to Halakha, Jewish law, before children reach a certain age, the parents are responsible for their child's actions. Once Jewish children reach that age ...
s, and holiday celebrations in the shtetls of Eastern Europe. Feidman married Ora Bat-Chaim, his personal manager, in 1975.


Music career

Feidman began his career in
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
as a member of the
Teatro Colón The Teatro Colón () is a historic opera house in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is considered one of the ten best opera houses in the world by National Geographic. According to a survey carried out by the acoustics expert Leo Beranek among leadin ...
Symphony Orchestra. Two years later he immigrated to
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
to become the youngest clarinetist ever to play with the
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (abbreviation IPO; Hebrew: התזמורת הפילהרמונית הישראלית, ''ha-Tizmoret ha-Filharmonit ha-Yisra'elit'') is a major Israeli symphony orchestra based in Tel Aviv. Its principal concert ...
. He was a member of the orchestra for over 20 years. In the early 1970s he began his solo career. He has performed with the Berliner Symphoniker, the
Kronos Quartet The Kronos Quartet is an American string quartet based in San Francisco. It has been in existence with a rotating membership of musicians for 50 years. The quartet covers a very broad range of musical genres, including contemporary classical musi ...
, the Polish Chamber Philharmonic, the Munich Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Munich Radio Orchestra. In 1974 the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra commissioned composer Misha Segal to write a concerto for clarinet and orchestra for Giora Feidman. The one-movement piece, which was based on an original
nigun A nigun (, 'tune' or 'melody'; pl. nigunim) or niggun (pl. niggunim) is a form of Ashkenazi Jewish vocal music sung in group settings. ''Nigunim'' are melodic tunes, often using repetitive non-lexical vocables such as "bim-bim-bam", "lai-lai- ...
, premiered that same year. Movie director
Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...
invited him to play the clarinet solos for the
soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...
of ''
Schindler's List ''Schindler's List'' is a 1993 American epic historical drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg and written by Steven Zaillian. It is based on the historical novel '' Schindler's Ark'' (1982) by Thomas Keneally. The film follows ...
'', which won seven
Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...
. Feidman founded the "Clarinet and Klezmer in the Galilee" seminar and master class program, which takes place every year in
Safed Safed (), also known as Tzfat (), is a city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of up to , Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and in Israel. Safed has been identified with (), a fortif ...
, Israel.


Discography

* Jewish Soul Music (1973) * Nigunim of my People (1975) * The Singing Clarinet (1987) * Clarinetango (1990) * The Magic of the Klezmer (1990) * Viva el Klezmer (1991) * Gershwin & The Klezmer (1991) * The Dance of Joy (1992) * Klassic Klezmer (1993) * Concert for the Klezmer (1993) * Der Rattenfanger (1993) * Prokofiev: Overture on Hebrew Themes for Clarinet, String Quartet and Piano, Op. 34, with the
Juilliard String Quartet The Juilliard String Quartet (JSQ) is a classical music string quartet founded in 1946 at the Juilliard School in New York by William Schuman and Robert Mann. Since its inception, it has been the quartet-in-residence at the Juilliard School. ...
and
Yefim Bronfman Yefim Naumovich Bronfman (; born April 10, 1958) is a Soviet-born Israeli-American pianist. Biography Bronfman was born in Tashkent, Uzbek SSR, and immigrated to Israel at the age of 15. He was born into a musical Jewish family. His father Naum ...
(May 18, 1994, Princeton, NJ) - Sony Classical * Feidman in Jerusalem (1994) * Klezmer Chamber Music (1995) * The Soul Chai (1995) * The Incredible Clarinet (1995) * For You (1996) * Schelomo/Barakashot (1996) * Silence and Beyond — Feidman plays Ora Bat Chaim (1997) * Feidman in Bayreuth — Lilith — Neun Gesänge der dunklen Liebe (1997) * Soul Meditation, Harmony of Soul (1997) * Der Golem — Feidman and the Arditti String Quartet (1997) * Klezmer Celebration (1997) * Feidman and Israel Camerata (1998) * Feidman and Katja Beer — Schubert (1998) * Journey (1999) * And the Angels Sing (1999) * Klezmer and More (2000) * Rhapsody (2000) * To Giora Feidman — Your Kletzmer Friends (2000) * TangoKlezmer (2001) * Dancing in the Field (2002) * Feidman plays Piazzolla (2002) * Love — Feidman plays Ora Bat Chaim (2003) * Feidman Plays Mozart and More (2003) * Safad — Feidman and The Safed Chamber Orchestra (2004) * Ewigkeit dringt in die Zeit (2004) * Wenn du singst, wie kannst du hassen? (2005) * Feidman and Eisenberg — Live at St. Severin (2005) * Crossing Borders (2006) * Klezmundo (2006) * Klezmer in the Galilee (2007) * The Spirit of Klezmer (2008) * Klezmer & Strings (2009) * Very Klezmer (2012) * Paul Celan - Zweistimmig (2013) - Feidman and
Ben Becker Ben Becker (born 19 December 1964) is a German film, theatre and voice actor. Biography Becker was born in Bremen, the son of actress Monika Hansen and actor Rolf Becker. He is the brother of actress Meret Becker and the stepson of Otto Sander ...
* Klezmer Bridges (2015) - Feidman and Rastrelli Cello Quartet * Feidman plays Beatles! (2017) - Feidman and Rastrelli Cello Quartet * A Tribute To Piazzolla (2021) - Feidman and Rastrelli Cello Quartet


Films

* ''Jewish Soul Music: The Art of Giora Feidman'' (1980), directed by Uri Barbash * ''
Schindler's List ''Schindler's List'' is a 1993 American epic historical drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg and written by Steven Zaillian. It is based on the historical novel '' Schindler's Ark'' (1982) by Thomas Keneally. The film follows ...
'' (1993), directed by
Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...
: the clarinet solos * ''Beyond Silence'' (1996), directed by Caroline Link: as a guest appearance, playing himself


See also

*
Music of Israel The music of Israel is a combination of Jewish and non-Jewish music traditions that have come together over the course of a century to create a distinctive musical culture. For almost 150 years, musicians have sought original stylistic elements ...


References


External links

*
Giora Feidman
official site

Pianissimo Musik
Giora Feidman
last.fm
Conjuring an era, one note at a time in the mystical city of Safed
{{DEFAULTSORT:Feidman, Giora 1936 births Living people Musicians from Buenos Aires Argentine people of Moldovan-Jewish descent Argentine emigrants to Israel 20th-century Argentine male musicians 21st-century Argentine male musicians Israeli people of Argentine-Jewish descent Israeli people of Moldovan-Jewish descent Jewish Israeli musicians Klezmer musicians Israeli clarinetists Bass clarinetists Jewish Argentine musicians 20th-century Israeli male musicians 21st-century Israeli male musicians 21st-century clarinetists Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Argentine clarinetists