East Meets West. Photo - Bob Blacksberg

Practicing. Photo - Natan Alvarez

Studying Yiddish. Photo - Bob Blacksberg

German Goldenshteyn 1934 - 2006

2006: KlezKanada mourned the loss of German Goldenshteyn

We are deeply saddened at the sudden loss of German Goldenshteyn, a"h. German Goldenshteyn is survived by his wife Mina, their daughter, son-in law and grandson Klava, Borya and Alex Rozentul, numerous relatives, neighbors and landslayt (compatriots) in New York, Philadelphia, Vienna, Israel and Ukraine, and an entire community of musical friends and colleagues throughout the world. He has bequeathed us a legacy of melodies deep and fiery, merry and heartrending, and it is ours now to carry on and play, celebrate, dance to, study, pass on to yet future generations, and tell them that we once knew a German, and he gave us these tunes to make our own... Follow this link to read Michael Alpert's full message, recall German's music and experience more of German's contribution to Klezmer.

EAST MEETS WEST – THE INTERCHANGE CONTINUES

TALK THE TALK – LEARNING YIDDISH AT KLEZKANADA

As any number of venerable and honest to G-d East European klezmorim were heard to utter: “Az du vilst zayn a klezmer, darfstu redn yidish!” If you wanna be a klezmer, you have to speak Yiddish! The Yiddish language is a core element of East European Jewish culture, fundamental to a deeper understanding of klezmer music and its milieu, and remains an integral part of KlezKanada. Monday, August 21 will be Yiddish Day featuring special Guerilla Yiddish Survival sessions PM I period with Nicolai “Kolya” Borodulin , Peysakh Fiszman , and with Michael Alpert – who will offer a one-time workshop “Tsu zingen un tsu zogn: Yiddish Pronunciation for Singers.” Borodulin and Alpert are creating a new handbook “Yidish far Klezmorim” that will have you wowing your pals on the bandstand and befuddling your clients with your expertise in the argot of Ashkenaz, including the legendary klezmer-loshn (klezmer slang), and Borodulin will offer a course “Yidish far Klezmorim” every day during AM II. But you don’t have to be a klezmer to speak Yiddish. We offer daily Yiddish language classes for everyone by Nicolai Borodulin and Peysakh Fiszman, as well as the unparalleled insights of the World’s Most Perfectly Developed Yiddishist, best-selling “Born to Kvetch” author Michael Wex . Additionally, there will be a Yiddish Tish (table) in the dining room for those who like to talk while they eat; the annual Sara Rosenfeld Memorial Lectures by the incomparable Eugene Orenstein ; and a daily informal discussion group “Bagegenishn mit Yidish” (Encounters with Yiddish), geared for all. Finally, early morning Yiddish Nature Walks and at least one late-night stroll “Di likhtike shtern - See the Stars Come Out in Yiddish” with the dapper and distinguished Itzik Gottesman of Forverts fame will begin and end your Yiddish day.

WALK THE WALK – THE POWER OF YIDDISH

BEYOND BAGELS AND BONGOS – IRVING FIELDS!

We are extremely privileged to have with us at KlezKanada 2006 a living legend of Jewish and American popular music: pianist, composer and lyricist Irving Fields . In his ninth decade, Fields is still going strong as a fusion pioneer of the cocktail lounge, the society room, the recording studio and the concert hall. From his early years of NYC’S Lower East Side, Fields was a boy soloist with Cantor Yossele Rosenblatt, and began his Yiddish theatre career at age 10 in “The Galician Wedding” with Ludwig Satz and Jennie Goldstein. Steeped in the Yiddish theatre and Tin Pan Alley, he remains one of the last representatives of those colourful ambiences. A visionary musical innovator, Fields took Latin, jazz, classical and Jewish musical elements and fused them into a style both uniquely his own and a classic expression of the American-Jewish experience. His hits include “Miami Beach Rumba”, “Take Her to Jamaica”, “Managua Nicaragua” and the lyrics to “The Wedding Samba”. His international career has taken him from the Catskills and Plaza Hotel to Carnegie Hall, national TV and the Taj Mahal. Mr. Fields will be featured in a special KlezKanada plenary session co-hosted by Josh Dolgin and DJ SoCalled , Monday, August 21, in the PM II period, and will grace our KlezKabaret at 11:00 p.m. that night in “Late Night Lounge with Irving Fields”. Be there or be Skver! (For those who can’t get enough, Mr. Fields can be heard six nights a week at Nino’s Tuscany on West 58th Street in New York City.)

SOLES ON FIRE – EASTERN EUROPEAN JEWISH DANCE FOR ALL

“Di muzik klapt mir in di oyern, un geyt mir glaykh in di fis arayn." "The music hits my ears, and goes straight to my feet,” said Bronya Sakina, a remarkable Yiddish folksinger and dancer from Ukraine. Learning the traditional dances done to klezmer music is a wonderful route to understanding the music as well as celebrating Yidishkayt in its most social context. The Dance faculty features premier East European Jewish dance researchers and instructors Michael Alpert , Walter Zev Feldman and Steven Weintraub , and introduces the wonderful talents of KlezKanada scholarship graduate Avia Moore . The KlezKanada 2006 Dance Program will be restructured this year to offer two sessions: “Yiddish Dance: Repertoire and Genres” and “Yiddish Dance: Style and Context”. In each, students will explore the steps, styles and embellishments of traditional bulgars, freylekhs, horas, shers, kolomeykes and other dances, to music provided by the World’s Greatest Klezmer Musicians. Topics covered will include:

• Litvak stylings, kozatzke kliches, and other stunts (like bottle dancing)
• Jazzing the Dance Floor – towards a free wheeling aesthetic for the klezmer dance floor, where dancers are jamming with the music and each other, exploring traditions of counterpoint, harmony and change
• A family dance for parents and kids, "Fiselekh, Fiselekh," (Little Feet) will take place after dinner, and dancing for all, led by Steven Weintraub and Avia Moore, will culminate the evening programs and again rock our KlezKabaret. Steven Weintraub will also offer a lecture and demonstration course: “A Backdrop of Eternity: The Long and Entertaining History of Jewish Dance in Pageantry and Performance..

YIDDISH VISUAL THEATRE WORKSHOP

KLEZKANADA IN PHOTOS, 1999-2004, AN EXHIBITION BY DAVID KAUFMAN