Josh Horowitz asked me to post this. Cookie Segelstein
Guzikov's fame rested upon his elaborations on the works of Weber, Hummel, Hoffmeister, Paganini, etc. Yes, his concert programmes did include *Fantasias and Variations* on Polish, Russian, French, German and even Jewish folk tunes, but these were generally played as encores or as the last pieces on his program. He could not have penetrated the upper crust as he did with these alone, but rather used them for effect. Guzikov's fame as a legendary klezmer today has rested upon scant, hopeful statements by Idelssohn and Beregovski, who tried to raise the status of Jewish folk art by using Guzikov as a *klezmer who made it big.* Neither Idelsohn nor Beregovski researched and analysed what kind of music Guzikov's fame rested upon, nor were their explanations as to the multifarious reasons for his popularity by any means complete. There is no evidence whatsoever which points to Guzikov's music having entered the general klezmer repertoire of the 19th century, in spite of the speculative claims made by Ottens/Rubin, who, in their chapter on Guzikov in the German book, Klezmer-musik, calls him "...surely the most mysterious, famous, and certainly most important personality who brought forth the Klezmer genre..." (pg. 157). Even more startling is the assertion that "...as in many similarly structured communities of Eastern Europe, the Guzikovs, in their function as klezmorim, played an important role in the spreading of Nigunim, not only from one Hasidic dynasty to another, but also from between Misnagdim and Hasidim..." (pg. 159). That's a mouthful, especially in light of the fact that Guzikov's documented repertoire gives names only to classical works, with his National (read Folk) repertoire consisting of usually one suite per concert of anything from French to Russian ditties couched in a quasi classical Theme and Variations setting. Bauerle's Theaterzeitung as well as the the Vienna Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde give accounts of these programmes. (the publication of my biography of Guzikov was begun under the auspices of the Academy of Sciences in Vienna, but was aborted due to lack of funds, but I do hope to publish it eventually). The Ottens/Rubin book, through its relentless, yet characteristic method of selective validation of personalities deemed worthy of cult status in the klezmer world, perpetuates many of the myths associated with Guzikov, the most irresponsible of which is the idea that Guzikov had an appreciable influence on the repertoire, style or fostering of klezmer music in the 19th century or subsequent to it. Guzikov's favored concert structure is fascinating in and of itself. Most of his concerts were opened by local highly regarded musicians from the Hof orchestras. Guzikov then typically made a dramatic debut, played a few pieces, left the stage, then received a curtain call, at which time he played his "lower" repertoire, which usually ended in a tizzy of pyrotechnics. Rarely did he present more than a handgul of pieces on a program, which made up half of a concert program of contemporary length. He made himself cleverly scarce, so as never to saturate the attention span of his audience, thereby assuring that his novelty effect could continue beyond the constraints of one concert evening. Forced scarcity does not characterize Hasidic nigunim by any stretch of the definition. What I find more interesting is the fact that both Pedotser and Guzikov placed such importance on the Variation form. In light of the fact that this was the quintessential form for showcasing virtuosic instrumental talent in the classical world in the early 19th Century ( as opposed to the earlier Rococco Sonatas, Baroque Ricercares and Fugues, and Renaissance Pavannes and Preludiae) this is interesting in that it shows early examples of musicians familiar with the klezmer genre with a foot in both worlds striving to synthezise them musically, implying that the chasm between folk and classical was not as big as some historians and observers would like us to believe, and that the sophistication we find in klezmer music today has a longer history than ideological depictions suggest. Josh Horowitz ---------------------- [EMAIL PROTECTED] ---------------------+ Hosted by Shamash: The Jewish Network http://shamash.org A service of Hebrew College, which offers online courses and an online MA in Jewish Studies, http://hebrewcollege.edu/online/ * * FREE JEWISH LEARNING * * Shamash invites you to join MyJewishLearning.com, a comprehensive, objective, authoritative and interactive learning resource in all areas of Judaism. Free membership via http://www.myjewishlearning.com/shamash ---------------------- [EMAIL PROTECTED] ---------------------=
