Beyond the Dybbuk… Henech Kon and the Infinite Prowess of Yiddish Music

Dr. Diana Matut
University Halle-Wittenberg, Germany,
Online Presentation in English
Nov. 30 11 AM PT 2 PM ET
Admission:Free but advance registration required
Henech Konis best known today as the composer of the film score for the 1937 filmDybbukand songs such as”Shpil zhe mir a lidelein Yidish”.He was also a brilliant pianist and musicologist, and wrote arrangements for dozens of Yiddish songs and other scores, among themFreylekhe kaptsonim(‘Jolly Paupers’, 1937). Born in Poland and educated in Berlin, he moved to Warsaw where he worked with the great writers of his time, and wrote music for their plays andkleynkunstperformances. Melech Ravitch called him “the Jewish musician par excellence.”
This talk will honor his tremendous legacy and present the project of bringing his pre-war Yiddish opera “Bas Sheve” back to the stage.
Dr Diana Matutteaches Jewish Studies, Yiddish and Jewish Music at the University Halle-Wittenberg, Germany, and the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies.