Sunday, March 30, 2025

This concert provides, among other things, a portrait of the brilliant American clarinetist and composer David Krakauer, who moves easily between the worlds of classical music and klezmer. He  appears with the PSO for the first time. Conductor Anna Handler, newly appointed an assistant conductor at the Boston Symphony, also makes her PSO debut.

Two major classical works in the key of A Major, by Mozart and Beethoven, bookend the concert. The key is important for the brilliance generated by the three sharps in its key signature, but also because composers writing before the invention of valves for brass instruments knew that A Major meant horns in their thrilling high register. Listen for blazing passages in the first and fourth movements of the Beethoven!

The klezmer tradition is rich and ancient, tracing roots back to the Middle Ages and to cultures as diverse as the Romany, Ottoman Türkiye, Ukraine and Russia. The word itself can mean both the music and the musician playing. It is Yiddish, but springs from Hebrew roots.

The melding of classical and klezmer music has been going on for hundreds of years, with harmonies, melodies and performers moving freely from genre to genre. Klezmer has been passed down for most of its history through the male sides of families, though contemporary groups now embrace women. In the US, the music arrived with Jewish immigrants, and it was here that many of the early klezmer recordings were made. When jazz became a force, klezmer easily absorbed the best parts of it, and in succeeding eras, this music has expanded to include many contemporary influences. As usual, the internet is a rich source of recordings from many eras. For starters, you might enjoy the high-spirited clarinet playing of Dave Tarras.

Klezmer lives today because of the deep humanity of its expression. It has always been heard at weddings and funerals and in the streets. In its joy it is never far from sorrow, and in its suffering you always feel a pull back toward celebration. After today’s journey through a bit of this music, you may hear Beethoven’s familiar symphony as you have never before heard it.

– Martin Webster