
Joseph Brody ( yi, יוסף בּרױדי ) (1876/1877 – 1937) was an American Jewish composer who wrote prolifically for the
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 ...
as well as liturgical Jewish works. He taught
George Gershwin
George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...
and was a friend of
Yossele Rosenblatt
Josef "Yossele" Rosenblatt (May 9, 1882 – June 19, 1933) was a Ukrainian-born chazzan (cantor) and composer. He was regarded as the greatest cantor of his time.
Biography
Rosenblatt was born on May 9, 1882, in Bila Tserkva, Russian Empire. ...
.
His daughter,
Estelle Brody, was an actress.
Biography
Early life
Brody was probably born on March 12, 1877, based upon his gravestone, in
Lyakhavichy
Liachavičy ( be, Ляхавічы, , russian: Ляховичи, pl, Lachowicze, yi, לעכאוויטש ''Lekhavitsh'', lt, Liachivičai) is a city in the southwestern Belarusian Brest Region.
History
Known since the 15th century in the Grand D ...
,
Minsk Governorate
The Minsk Governorate (russian: Минская губерния, Belarusian: ) or Government of Minsk was a governorate ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire. The seat was in Minsk. It was created in 1793 from the land acquired in the partition ...
, in the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...
, although the
Lexicon of Yiddish Theatre
''Leksikon fun yidishn teater'' ( yi, לעקסיקאן פון יידישן טעאטער ''Lexicon of Yiddish Theatre'' or ''Encyclopedia of the Yiddish Theatre'') is a Yiddish language reference encyclopedia compiled by Zalmen Zylbercweig, assist ...
gives the date as February 12, and in own his naturalization application he stated his birthday was January 22, 1876.
His father, Harris Brody, was a tailor and sent Joseph to a
Cheder
A ''cheder'' ( he, חדר, lit. "room"; Yiddish pronunciation ''kheyder'') is a traditional primary school teaching the basics of Judaism and the Hebrew language.
History
''Cheders'' were widely found in Europe before the end of the 18th ...
for his early education.
His father emigrated to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
in 1887, at which point Joseph entered a
Yeshiva
A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are stu ...
in
Slonim
Slonim ( be, Сло́нім, russian: Сло́ним, lt, Slanimas, lv, Sloņima, pl, Słonim, yi, סלאָנים, ''Slonim'') is a city in Grodno Region, Belarus, capital of the Slonimski rajon. It is located at the junction of the Ščar ...
, where he stayed for six years. During that time he developed an aptitude for music, and was greatly impressed by the military orchestras which regularly played in the park in Slonim during the summers.
After being noticed by
cantor
A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. In formal Jewish worship, a cantor is a person who sings solo verses or passages to which the choir or congregation responds.
In Judaism, a cantor sings and lead ...
s who visited the Yeshiva in Slonim, he decided to drop out and followed cantor Moshe Bass to
Bialystok, where he became a choirboy. It was there that he learned music theory and studied Hebrew and Russian.
Upon losing his Soprano voice, he began to compose cantorial compositions, and was hired by Cantor Kahane in
Vilnius
Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional u ...
as a choir conductor, and after that under cantor Yoel Zelig in
Pinsk
Pinsk ( be, Пі́нск; russian: Пи́нск ; Polish: Pińsk; ) is a city located in the Brest Region of Belarus, in the Polesia region, at the confluence of the Pina River and the Pripyat River. The region was known as the Marsh of Pi ...
.
To avoid being his conscription into the Russian military, his father sent for him and he travelled to the United States in 1895 via
Hamburg
Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...
,
or possibly in 1896.
He worked for a time as a conductor in synagogues and in the Yiddish theatre in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
.
Composing career

It was around the turn of the century that Brody's composing career in the United States began to see some success. Although he had worked at
Morris Finkel's Yiddish theatre at the
Arch Street Theatre
The Arch Street Theatre in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during the 19th century, was one of the three main Philadelphia theaters for plays; the other two were the Walnut Street Theatre and the Chestnut Street Theatre. The Arch Street Theatre open ...
in Philadelphia, that theatre merely staged New York plays and so his position was limited to conducting rather than composing. It was when he was hired by David Kessler from the Thalia Theatre in New York City that his career as a Jewish American composer began in earnest.
His partnership with Kessler would last for several decades.
Kessler, along with
Bertha Kalich
Bertha Kalich (also spelled Kalish, born Beylke Kalakh; 17 May 1874 – 18 April 1939) was a Ukrainian-Jewish-American actress. Though she was well-established as an entertainer in Eastern Europe, she is best remembered as one of the several ...
and
Sigmund Mogulesko starred in his first play, which was very successful. During this time he developed an appreciation for
Louis Friedsell's career, with whom he would later widely collaborate.
He continued to work Yiddish folk melodies and Jewish religious music into his theatre compositions.
Among his other contemporaries in the New York Yiddish Theatre world were
Rubin Doctor
Reuben Doctor or Rubin Doctor ( yi, רובין דאקטער or , 1880 – c. 1940) was an actor of the Yiddish Theater, best known as a prolific writer of Yiddish songs during the early Twentieth century. His most well known song was his 1922 pie ...
,
Arnold Perlmutter
Arnold Perlmutter ( yi, אַרנאָלד פּערלמוטער, 1859–1953) was a composer for Yiddish theatre, born in Zolochiv, Galicia, Austria-Hungary. He moved to Lemberg where he received both a religious and a secular education in Polish, ...
,
Herman Wohl,
Louis Gilrod, and many others.
Joseph Rumshinsky Joseph Rumshinsky (1881–1956) was a Jewish composer born near Vilna, Lithuania (then part of Russian Poland). Along with Sholom Secunda, Alexander Olshanetsky and Abraham Ellstein, he is considered one of the "big four" composers and conductors of ...
published arrangements of a number of Brody's compositions during this era as well.
In 1913, Brody became a naturalized citizen of the United States.
During the 1910s Brody taught
George Gershwin
George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...
composition for a time, focusing on counterpoint, and directed a choir that Gershwin sang in.
After two decades of successful collaborations, Kessler died in 1920, after which Brody spent several shorter stints composing in other theatres, including the People's Theater, the Liberty Theater and the Hopkinson Theater.
During his career he composed music for more than sixty plays.
Although a number of sources list Brody as having died in 1943, he actually died on August 16, 1937.
He was buried in the
Beth David Cemetery in
Nassau County, New York
Nassau County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. census, Nassau County's population is 1,395,774. The county seat is Mineola, New York, Mineola ...
.
Family
Joseph married his first wife Elizabeth (Leah) Vishniff, a fellow Russian Jewish immigrant, in May 1898. In 1900 their first daughter
Estelle Brody, then known as Sadie, was born. She would later become a well-known silent film actor in Great Britain. Their second and third children, Phillip and Harris, were born in 1902 and 1905. Their son
Murray L. Brody
Murray may refer to:
Businesses
* Murray (bicycle company), an American manufacturer of low-cost bicycles
* Murrays, an Australian bus company
* Murray International Trust, a Scottish investment trust
* D. & W. Murray Limited, an Australian whol ...
, who would later become a composer as well, was born in 1909. Elizabeth died in May 1912 at age 36.
Joseph married his second wife Bessie Fox, another Russian Jewish immigrant, in December 1912.
According to the census records they continued to live with Sadie, Philip, Harry and Moses as well as their own children Bernard (born in 1914) and Jannette (born in 1917).
Selected plays Brody contributed music for
* by
Jacob Gordin
Jacob Michailovitch Gordin ( Yiddish: יעקב מיכאַילאָװיטש גאָרדין; May 1, 1853 – June 11, 1909) was a Russian-born American playwright active in the early years of Yiddish theater. He is known for introducing realism a ...
, music cowritten with
Sigmund Mogulesko, 1900.
* (The Nightingale in Jerusalem), operetta, written by Sigmund Feinman, lyrics by Brody, performed by
Kalman Juvelier
Kalman Juvelier ( yi, קלמן יאָװעליר, 1863-1939) was an Austrian-born Yiddish theatre actor and manager, Broder singer, Tenor, and recording artist of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, who was active both in Europe an ...
, 1903.
* (The Jews in Brazil) by Herman, 1903.
* (The naive one) by
Nahum Meir Schaikewitz
Nahum Meïr Schaikewitz, also known by his pseudonym "Shomer" (December 18, 1849 in Nesvizh, Belarus – 25 November 1905 in New York City)'' Publishers Weekly'', Vol. 68, No. 1766, 2 December 1905.p. 1700, "Obituary Notes: Nahum Meyer Scha ...
, lyrics by Brody, performed by
Bertha Kalich
Bertha Kalich (also spelled Kalish, born Beylke Kalakh; 17 May 1874 – 18 April 1939) was a Ukrainian-Jewish-American actress. Though she was well-established as an entertainer in Eastern Europe, she is best remembered as one of the several ...
, 1903.
* , performed by Bertha Kalich and David Kessler, 1903.
* (King of the beggars), written by
Israel Zangwill
Israel Zangwill (21 January 18641 August 1926) was a British author at the forefront of cultural Zionism during the 19th century, and was a close associate of Theodor Herzl. He later rejected the search for a Jewish homeland in Palestine and ...
with lyrics by
Solomon Smulewitz
Solomon Smulewitz ( yi, שלמה שמולעװיץ, 1868–1943), sometimes known by the anglicized name Solomon Small, was a Russian-born American Tenor, folk poet, Badchen, playwright, recording artist, and composer for the Yiddish theatre. He wro ...
, 1905.
*Uptown and downtown, with lyrics by Solomon Smulewitz, 1906.
* (Queen of Sheba), operetta, written by
Moses Horowitz
Moses Ha-Levi Horowitz (February 27, 1844Baker 1998. – March 4, 1910), also known as Moishe Hurvitz, Moishe Isaac Halevy-Hurvitz, etc., was a playwright and actor in the early years of Yiddish theater.Bercovici, ''O sută de ani…'' Jacob Adle ...
with lyrics by
Anshel Schorr
Anshel Schorr ( yi, אַנשל שור; October 25, 1871 - May 31, 1942), also known by the anglicized name Albert Schorr, was an Austrian-born American playwright, lyricist, theater manager and composer active in the Yiddish Theatre of the early ...
, 1907.
* (The neighbors), with lyrics by Anshel Schorr, 1908.
* by
Jacob Gordin
Jacob Michailovitch Gordin ( Yiddish: יעקב מיכאַילאָװיטש גאָרדין; May 1, 1853 – June 11, 1909) was a Russian-born American playwright active in the early years of Yiddish theater. He is known for introducing realism a ...
* by Jacob Gordin
* (
The Jewish Heart), operetta, written by
Joseph Lateiner, music cowritten with Sigmund Mogulesko with lyrics by
Louis Gilrod, Solomon Smulewitz and Sigmund Mogulesko, 1908.
* (The Wedding Day), operetta, music cowritten with
Louis Friedsell, lyrics by
Solomon Smulewitz
Solomon Smulewitz ( yi, שלמה שמולעװיץ, 1868–1943), sometimes known by the anglicized name Solomon Small, was a Russian-born American Tenor, folk poet, Badchen, playwright, recording artist, and composer for the Yiddish theatre. He wro ...
and Louis Friedsell, 1910.
* (The house of peace or "Home, sweet home"), written by Joseph Lateiner, music cowritten with Louis Friedsell with lyrics by Solomon Smulewitz, Joseph Tanzman and
Isidore Lillian
Isidore Lillian ( Yiddish: איזידאָר ליליען ''Izidor Lilien'') (c. 1882 - 1960) was an actor, songwriter, playwright, and composer who was a leading figure in the New York Yiddish Theatre for the first half of the twentieth century. He ...
, 1910.
* (The false step), written by Joseph Lateiner, music cowritten with Louis Friedsell, lyrics by Henry M. Gastwirth, performed by Kalman Juvelier, 1915.
* (
The Yiddish King Lear), written by Jacob Gordin, 1915.
* (The True Friend) written by Joseph Lateiner with lyrics by Isidore Lillian, 1917.
* '' (A friend in life), operetta, written by Shloime Steinberg, with lyrics by B. Reznik, 1918.
* (A mother's soul), with lyrics by Joseph Tanzman
* (The land of tears), operetta, with lyrics by David Meyerowitz, 1920.
* (Jacob, the gypsy), musical, with lyrics by Joseph Tanzman, 1926.
* (
The Yiddish King Lear), film adaptation of Gordin play, 1934.
References
External links
Musical scores and sound recordings of Brody compositionsat the
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The librar ...
Joseph Brody compositions Discography of American Historical Recordings
Joseph Brody scores Brown University Yiddish sheetmusic collection
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brody, Joseph
1870s births
1937 deaths
Burials at Beth David Cemetery
Jewish American composers
Yiddish theatre
American people of Russian-Jewish descent
American male composers
People from Lyakhavichy
Date of birth uncertain