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Klezmer

Klezmer is a traditional style of wedding music played by Eastern European Ashkenazi Jews. Part of Yiddish heritage, modern klezmer integrates different influences, such as Roma music and jazz.

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All Content on this topic

A man with a mustache plays the clarinet

Giora Feidman gifts clarinet to Jewish Museum Berlin

The 'king of klezmer' shaped the soundtrack to "Schindler's List" and made Jewish music world-famous.
MusicJuly 27, 2022
DW Arts.21 (Sendungslogo Kultur.21 englisch)

From Klezmer to Rap – the Power of Jewish Music

Persecuted in Nazi Germany and later forgotten. Encounters with Jewish musicians, past and present.
CultureFebruary 12, 202226:02 min
Clarinetist Giora Feidman, Copyright: Weißbrod dpa/lsw

'King of Klezmer' Giora Feidman turns 85

As the celebrated clarinetist Giora Feidman celebrates his 85th birthday, he's also launching a book and new recording.
CultureMarch 24, 2021
Yiddish Summer Weimar 2019

Rediscovering Yiddish arts and culture between the wars

Yiddish Summer Weimar explores the impact of Yiddish culture on the creative fervor associated with Weimar-era Germany.
CultureJuly 12, 2019
Rapper Socalled

Socalled: A rapper sings Yiddish folk songs

Canadian artist Socalled is is now releasing an album of Yiddish folk songs.
MusicSeptember 20, 2018
Giora Feidman. Photo: Michael Kappeler dpa/lbn

Giora Feidman: 'The clarinet is the microphone of my soul'

The "King of Klezmer" Giora Feidman tells DW what klezmer is truly about.
March 24, 2016
Concert program from 1992: Radical Jewish Culture at the Knitting Factory in New York City

Musical identity

The Radical Jewish Culture movement started in New York, but time in Germany changed its musicians.
April 20, 2011
Igor Epstein playing the violin

Klezmer academy

A unique school in Cologne passes on the art of klezmer music and other Jewish traditions.
November 25, 2009
The Congress Hall

Triumph of the Music

A backdrop for many of Hitler's speeches, the Nuremberg Congress Hall reopens as a concert hall.
March 7, 2008

One to One with the King of Klezmer Giora Feidman (Part One)

"Long live Giora, his clarinet and his music! He builds bridges between generations, cultures and classes and he does it with perfect artistry" (Conductor Leonard Bernstein)
January 23, 2008