Chicago YIVO Society’s Blog

Figa

Tzivi’s Report: Chicago YIVO Summer Festival favorites Stewart Figa & Ilya Levinson brought the crowd to its feet Saturday at the “Kosher Cabaret” sponsored by West Suburban Temple Har Zion in River Forest.

Their 6 partners in the New Budapest Orpheum Society (Julia Bentley, Philip V. Bohlman, Dan Davis, Iordanka Kissiova, Mark Sonksen, & Don Stille) joined Figa & Levinson for a celebration of Figa’s 13th year as WSTHZ’s cantor extraordinaire.

Figa sang in German, Hebrew, & Yiddish, including my all-time favorite number “Ich bin ein unverbesserlicher Optimist” (“I’m an Irrepressible Optimist”) by Hermann Leopoldi & Robert Katscher. He also added a great rendition of Irving Berlin’s raucus “Cohen Owes Me Ninety-Seven Dollars” (in English).

Levinson

Mezzo-soprano Bentley provided the female touch with German torch songs, including the wonderful “Black Market” solo Marlene Dietrich sang (in English) in Billy Wilder’s 1948 film A Foreign Affair.

The New Budapest Orpheum Society has two CD collections (Dancing on the Edge of a Volcano & Jewish Cabaret in Exile) and they are BOTH highly recommended.

To Stewart: Mazel tov on your Bar Mitzvah year at WSTHZ!

SRO Crowd @ WSTHZ

Photo Credits: Jan Lisa Huttner (12/3/11)

The Chicago YIVO Society is proud to announce Mayses un Klangen–a special concert in honor of Sarah Lazarus.

Date: July 10 (Sunday)

Time: 1:30–3:30 PM

Where: Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center

Mayses un Klangen (Stories and Sounds) features texts based on Jewish folklore to be narrated by Cantor Stewart Figa accompanied by cellist Racheli Galay and pianist Ilya Levinson. The music was written by Israeli composer Daniel Galay (Racheli’s father).

RSVP & PRE-PAYMENT REQUIRED!

For details, visit the ILHMEC website.

Sarah Rose Lazarus (1911-2000) taught thousands of children in Chicago’s folkshuln the joys of Yiddish music, and later taught at Hebrew day schools.  Her happy personality and nurturing attitude made her beloved to her students.

Our special guest for this performance will be Sarah Lazarus’ son Jeremy. Born and raised here in Chicago,  Jeremy  A. Lazarus, M.D. (President-elect of the American Medical Association) is now a clinical professsor of psychiatry at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and resides in Denver.

Jewish Music spiced with Jazz

Date: August 15 (Mon)

Time: 12:15 PM

Where: Indian Trails Public Library, Wheeling

Phone reservations required:

847-459-4100

Date: July 7 (Thurs)

Time: 12:15 PM

Where: Evanston Public Library

Kurt Bjorling, leader and clarinet

Date: June 30 (Thurs)

Time: 12:15

Where: Indian Trails Public Library, Wheeling

Anette Bjorling, harp

Kurt Bjorling, clarinet and basset-horn

Klezmer “listening music”

Phone reservations required 847-459-4100

Date: June 20 (Mon)

Time: 12:15

Where: Indian Trails Public Library (Wheeling)

Vocalist with guitar

Nostalgic Yiddsh songs

Bibi Marcell is a member of the Maxwell Street Klemzmer Band. The Maxwell Street Klezmer Band is a klezmerband based in Chicago. Founded in 1983, the band combines dance music, folk songs, theatre medleys, and jazzy Yiddish pop music from the 1930′s to the 1950′s, with traditional Jewish music, to bring what they describe as an old-fashioned spirit of fun to their performances.

They have performed across America, and in European cities including London, Munich, Vienna, Amsterdam,Enschede and The Hague. In 2004, the band’s 2002 CD Old Roots, New World was voted Best Jewish/Hebrew/Klezmer Album by the indie Just Plain Folks 2004 music awards.

(Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxwell_Street_Klezmer_Band).

Date: June 16 (Thurs)

Time: 12:15

Where: Sulzer Regional Library, Chicago

Leader: Steve Gibons