June 17, 2013: CLARINETIST GIORA FEIDMAN

June 17, 2013:  CLARINETIST GIORA FEIDMAN

Giora Feidman gave a free concert, part of a series of live concerts on Mondays at 5 pm.  It was broadcast live on Voice of Israel (Kol Yisrael).  The problem was we couldn't get there early and by the time we arrived, all seats were taken.  He is a very famous  klezmer clarinetist who began his career with the Israel Philharmonic.  Anyway we stood outside the doors of the concert hall for the first half.  We could hear the clarinet but not the back--up band, the Gitanes Blondes (Blond Gypsies) from Berlin.
During intermission Stan found 2 seats in second row center.  OK they had handwritten signs in Hebrew probably saying reserved.  But some nice people in the third row said no one sat there during the first half.  So we sat down.  As the intermission was ending, a man who worked at the hall came over and spoke to us in long Hebrew sentences.  Stan apologized for not understanding Hebrew.  The man went away and we stayed.

Feidman is a 76 year old who was born in Argentina and immigrated  to Israel many years ago.  He  morphed from a fantastic classical clarinetist to a marvelous klezmer clarinetist about twenty years ago.  If you saw the movie "The Comedian Harmonists" and remember the wedding scene (the baritone and the statuesque blond) he was the star of the music for the wedding.  If you didn't see the movie, it's worth getting on NetFlicks or at Video Droid.

His technique, musicianship, and showmanship are terrific.  The band was wonderful.  At one point they told the string bassist to play a solo.  He stood up and began bowing a waltz in a minor key on the top two strings of the bass without an accompaniment.  Then the guitarist left his instrument and stood behind the bassist with his arms around him so that he could plunk out a bass part (1-5-1-5) on the two low strings.  Then the violinist leaves the violin but keeps his hand on the bow; he lay down at the foot of the bass and bows beats two and three and some counter melody on the strings below the bridge. 

The endeavor ended with the accordionist picking up the violin to pluck the last note.

Maybe you have to be there.  I couldn't stop laughing.