Kharkov Klezmer Band
Encyclopedia
The Kharkov Klezmer Band (Харьков Клезмер Бенд), also known as the Kharkiv Klezmer Band (Харків Клезмер Бенд), is a klezmer
band from Kharkiv
, Ukraine
.
The band was founded in 1999 (in a country in which, as part of the Soviet Union
, the performance of traditional Jewish music
seemed effectively forbidden from the 1930s under Stalin until the early 1990s), under the leadership of Stanislav Raiko (Станіслав Райко), and comprises a group of conservatory-educated musicians.
According to the "Cradle of Klezmer" website, dedicated exclusively to Klezmer music, it is one of the most successful klezmer bands not only in Ukraine
, but also throughout the countries comprising the former Soviet Union
. The ensemble won the Best Klezmer Music Band award at the First Regional Jewish Cultural Festival in Kharkiv
in June 2000, and was named the Best Klezmer Band at the Jewish Cultural Festival in Kiev
, also in June of the same year. They were awarded the Best Klezmer Band award at the 4th All-Ukrainian Jewish Arts Festival "Shalom Ukraïna" in November 2000.
The band has performed in a number of national and international festivals, including the Klezfest 2000, in Saint Petersburg
, Russia
, where the violinist, Stanislav Raiko, won the Jury’s Special Prize for Mastery and the "Klezmer Es Irodalom" (Klezmer and Literature) Festival in Budapest
in 2000, along with the renowned Hungarian
klezmer bands Tikva and Odessa Klezmer Band, as well as at the KlezFest in Ukraine ("Клезфест в Україні") regularly since 2000, a Klezmer
festival that takes place every year since 1999 in Kiev
, the capital of Ukraine. They are also regular guests at the Klezfest in London
, starting with the 2001 edition, and have participated in other London events, such as the 2003 "Ex-Bloc Reunion. They participated as well in the Toronto Ashkenaz Festival in 2006, at the 5th Helsinki Klezmer Festival in 2007 with a concert and a klezmer master course, at the in 2008, the LvivKlezFest in July of 2010, as well as many other festivals and concerts.
The Kharkiv Klezmer Band is known for its fine, classical technique and its "old-style" playing. In 2001, the ensemble was chosen to give the official welcoming concert for the Israel
i President, Moshe Katzav, on his visit to Ukraine in 2001.
whereas it has also included:
Klezmer
Klezmer is a musical tradition of the Ashkenazic Jews of Eastern Europe. Played by professional musicians called klezmorim, the genre originally consisted largely of dance tunes and instrumental display pieces for weddings and other celebrations...
band from Kharkiv
Kharkiv
Kharkiv or Kharkov is the second-largest city in Ukraine.The city was founded in 1654 and was a major centre of Ukrainian culture in the Russian Empire. Kharkiv became the first city in Ukraine where the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed in December 1917 and Soviet government was...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
.
The band was founded in 1999 (in a country in which, as part of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, the performance of traditional Jewish music
Jewish music
Jewish music is the music and melodies of the Jewish People which have evolved over time throughout the long course of Jewish History. In some instances Jewish Music is of a religious nature, spiritual songs and refrains are common in Jewish Services throughout the world, while other times, it is...
seemed effectively forbidden from the 1930s under Stalin until the early 1990s), under the leadership of Stanislav Raiko (Станіслав Райко), and comprises a group of conservatory-educated musicians.
According to the "Cradle of Klezmer" website, dedicated exclusively to Klezmer music, it is one of the most successful klezmer bands not only in Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, but also throughout the countries comprising the former Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. The ensemble won the Best Klezmer Music Band award at the First Regional Jewish Cultural Festival in Kharkiv
Kharkiv
Kharkiv or Kharkov is the second-largest city in Ukraine.The city was founded in 1654 and was a major centre of Ukrainian culture in the Russian Empire. Kharkiv became the first city in Ukraine where the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed in December 1917 and Soviet government was...
in June 2000, and was named the Best Klezmer Band at the Jewish Cultural Festival in Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, also in June of the same year. They were awarded the Best Klezmer Band award at the 4th All-Ukrainian Jewish Arts Festival "Shalom Ukraïna" in November 2000.
The band has performed in a number of national and international festivals, including the Klezfest 2000, in Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, where the violinist, Stanislav Raiko, won the Jury’s Special Prize for Mastery and the "Klezmer Es Irodalom" (Klezmer and Literature) Festival in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
in 2000, along with the renowned Hungarian
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
klezmer bands Tikva and Odessa Klezmer Band, as well as at the KlezFest in Ukraine ("Клезфест в Україні") regularly since 2000, a Klezmer
Klezmer
Klezmer is a musical tradition of the Ashkenazic Jews of Eastern Europe. Played by professional musicians called klezmorim, the genre originally consisted largely of dance tunes and instrumental display pieces for weddings and other celebrations...
festival that takes place every year since 1999 in Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, the capital of Ukraine. They are also regular guests at the Klezfest in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, starting with the 2001 edition, and have participated in other London events, such as the 2003 "Ex-Bloc Reunion. They participated as well in the Toronto Ashkenaz Festival in 2006, at the 5th Helsinki Klezmer Festival in 2007 with a concert and a klezmer master course, at the in 2008, the LvivKlezFest in July of 2010, as well as many other festivals and concerts.
The Kharkiv Klezmer Band is known for its fine, classical technique and its "old-style" playing. In 2001, the ensemble was chosen to give the official welcoming concert for the Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i President, Moshe Katzav, on his visit to Ukraine in 2001.
Band Members
In 2007, the band was essentially composed of the following four musicians:- Stanislav Raiko (Станіслав Райко) - fiddleFiddleThe term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
- Gennadi Fomin (Геннадій Фомін) – clarinetClarinetThe clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
- Yuri Khainson or Heinson (Юрій Хаінсон) – accordeon
- Artem Kolenchuk (Артем Коленчук) – double bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
whereas it has also included:
- Mykhailo Krupnikov (Михайло Крупніков) - voiceVoiceVoice may refer to:* Human voice* Voice control or voice activation* Writer's voice* Voice acting* Voice vote* Voice message-In film:* Voice , a 2005 South Korean film* The Voice , a 2010 Turkish horror film directed by Ümit Ünal...
- Abbas Zulfuharov (Аббас Зульфугаров) - double bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
Discography
- Просте захн / Простые вещи see Kharkov Klezmer Band CD "Proste Zakhn"
- 2004: Ticking Again (Music & Words/Fréa Records)
- 2007: Radio-Chanson: Eight Stories about Jura Soyfer, a cabaretCabaretCabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
performance/play created by the Arabescs Theater-Studio (Театр-студію “Арабески”) of KharkivKharkivKharkiv or Kharkov is the second-largest city in Ukraine.The city was founded in 1654 and was a major centre of Ukrainian culture in the Russian Empire. Kharkiv became the first city in Ukraine where the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed in December 1917 and Soviet government was...
in honor of the Ukrainian-Austrian Jewish playwright and cabaret lyricist Jura SoyferJura SoyferJura Soyfer was an important Austrian political journalist and cabaret writer.-Life:...
, published as a CD with booklet. Music by the Kharkiv Klezmer Band, lyrics by the Ukrainian poet Serhiy ZhadanSerhiy ZhadanSerhiy Viktorovych Zhadan is a Ukrainian poet, novelist, essayist, and translator. Born in Starobilsk, Luhansk Oblast, he graduated from Kharkiv University in 1996, then spent three years as a graduate student of philology. He taught Ukrainian and world literature from 2000 to 2004, and...
.
External links
- Page about the band on http://www.klezmer.com.ua/news1/news22.php (in EnglishEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
) - Page dedicated to the band on the UMKA website (in UkrainianUkrainian languageUkrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
, RussianRussian languageRussian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
and EnglishEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
). - The UMKA website (in UkrainianUkrainian languageUkrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
, RussianRussian languageRussian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
and EnglishEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
) discusses the role played by the band in the "Radio-Chanson" project mentioned above under discography. - Article about the band on the BBC Ukraine website (in UkrainianUkrainian languageUkrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
) - Article about the Kyiv KlezFest 2002, focussing on the band, with an interview in the newspaper Den' (The Day) (in UkrainianUkrainian languageUkrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
) - Article and interview with the band at the Klezmer-Kolybel website (in RussianRussian languageRussian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
) - Listen to a song performed at the 2004 Kyiv KlezFest.
- Listen to songs from the album Ticking Again.