Shalom!

Before we start, some technical notes. After having some trouble with my former webspace provider, heim.at, my Klezmer pages are now hosted on the servers of Strato AG. Costs me some money, but anyway ... ;-) I apologize for long time not updating, for lacking CD reviews (they will come now ASAP), and any other annoyance.

Ok, let's restart ... :-)

For all those not knowing what Klezmer is like (too many people, I guess ;-)) I'll try to give a definition.
The word klezmer itself comes from the Aramaeic "kli" and "zemer" and means in the true sense "the human being becomes the bearer of the song". Nowadays klezmer stands for a music style and the musician performimg this kind of music. Klezmer originally is the music of (east)european Jews, performed during any kind of festivities by wandering musicians, the klezmorim. Klezmer music has been influenced by any culture of this world, and it did it's influences to any culture of this world. The variations are reaching from the traditional music up to a synthesis with jazz (Helmut Eisel&JEM), rock (Klezmatics) and other styles of music.
"Klezmer music is a music that dances, sings, expressing the joy and the mourning of life. A music, as prolific and manifold as the easteuropean yiddishe culture it came from. It's a mirror, showing the influence of Romanian, Ukrainian, Polish, Russian, Hungarian, Greek and Turkish sensibility on the Jewish imagination." (Haskala)
Klezmer music became a universal language of the soul. May it contribute to a peaceful understanding of all human beings? If there is something, that is able to get this done, it's Klezmer music!

A shlekhter sholem iz beter vi a guter krig.
A bad peace is better than a good war.