performance
The Great Dictionary of the Yiddish Language - In-person Program
Join YIVO for the world premiere production of The Great Dictionary of the Yiddish Language, a new chamber opera with music by Pulitzer Prize finalist Alex Weiser and libretto by Ben Kaplan. The opera tells the remarkable true story of Yiddish linguist Yudel Mark’s unfinished effort to create a comprehensive Yiddish dictionary.
With a runtime of 50 minutes, the opera is performed by an ensemble of five singers, combining characters based on historical figures — Yudel Mark and Max Weinreich, with those inspired by Jewish mystical themes; the character of Yudel Mark is haunted by three ‘alefs,’ three divine emanations of the Yiddish language—played by three mezzo-sopranos—who compel him to breathe new life into Yiddish as he works to complete the dictionary.
The Great Dictionary invites audiences to contemplate the surprisingly grand ambition of Yiddish culture after its decimation during the Holocaust and to consider the power of language to transform and shape us.
Directed by Rebecca Miller Kratzer, the production will feature tenor Jason Weisinger, baritone Gideon Dabi, and mezzo-sopranos Kristin Gornstein, Kate Maroney, and Kelly Guerra. An ensemble featuring clarinet, string quintet, and piano will be led by conductor David Bloom. The production will feature scenic design by Michael Bennett Lewis, projection design by Camilla Tassi, lighting design by Stacey Boggs, and costume design by Matsy Stinson.
Presented as YIVO's Annual Nusakh Vilne Memorial Program and as a part of YIVO’s 2025 centennial celebration, this production is presented in collaboration and with generous support from American Opera Projects, the League for Yiddish, and the American Society for Jewish Music.
The Great Dictionary of the Yiddish Language is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. America Opera Project’s programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council. AOP’s programs are also made possible in part by the Howard Gilman Foundation.
Ticket Info: Free; registration required
Presented by:
performance
performance
The Great Dictionary of the Yiddish Language - In-person Program
Join YIVO for the world premiere production of The Great Dictionary of the Yiddish Language, a new chamber opera with music by Pulitzer Prize finalist Alex Weiser and libretto by Ben Kaplan. The opera tells the remarkable true story of Yiddish linguist Yudel Mark’s unfinished effort to create a comprehensive Yiddish dictionary.
With a runtime of 50 minutes, the opera is performed by an ensemble of five singers, combining characters based on historical figures — Yudel Mark and Max Weinreich, with those inspired by Jewish mystical themes; the character of Yudel Mark is haunted by three ‘alefs,’ three divine emanations of the Yiddish language—played by three mezzo-sopranos—who compel him to breathe new life into Yiddish as he works to complete the dictionary.
The Great Dictionary invites audiences to contemplate the surprisingly grand ambition of Yiddish culture after its decimation during the Holocaust and to consider the power of language to transform and shape us.
Directed by Rebecca Miller Kratzer, the production will feature tenor Jason Weisinger, baritone Gideon Dabi, and mezzo-sopranos Kristin Gornstein, Kate Maroney, and Kelly Guerra. An ensemble featuring clarinet, string quintet, and piano will be led by conductor David Bloom. The production will feature scenic design by Michael Bennett Lewis, projection design by Camilla Tassi, lighting design by Stacey Boggs, and costume design by Matsy Stinson.
Presented as YIVO's Annual Nusakh Vilne Memorial Program and as a part of YIVO’s 2025 centennial celebration, this production is presented in collaboration and with generous support from American Opera Projects, the League for Yiddish, and the American Society for Jewish Music.
The Great Dictionary of the Yiddish Language is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. America Opera Project’s programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council. AOP’s programs are also made possible in part by the Howard Gilman Foundation.
Ticket Info: Free; registration required
Presented by:
performance
concert
A Night in Old Vienna with Phoenix Chamber Ensemble: Blavatnik Chamber Music Series at CJH – In-Person Program and Live on YouTube
Join Phoenix Chamber Ensemble pianists Vassa Shevel and Inessa Zaretsky and guest artists Anna Elashvili (violin) and Aaron Wolff (cello) for an evening of Mozart and Schubert.
Program:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Violin Sonata in E minor, K.304
Franz Schubert, Arpeggione Sonata in A minor, D.821 for Cello and Piano
Franz Schubert, Piano Trio in E flat major, Op.100
Founded in 2005 by pianists Vassa Shevel and Inessa Zaretsky, and celebrating their 20th anniversary this year, the Phoenix Chamber Ensemble has become a vital part of the New York classical community, presenting more than 70 public concerts at the Center for Jewish History. The ensemble has garnered a devoted following with its innovative programming and sensitive interpretations, earned an international reputation presenting concerts in Russia, Poland, Italy, and other European venues, and collaborated with numerous acclaimed guest artists, including clarinetist David Krakauer, the Grammy-nominated Enso Quartet, the Tesla Quartet, members of the Jasper String Quartet, the New York Little Opera Company, the Metropolitan Opera, and New York City Ballet.
Made possible by the Stravinsky Institute Foundation through the generous support of the Blavatnik Family Foundation.
Ticket Info:
In person: $15 general; $10 senior/student; $8 CJH member; click here to register
YouTube: Pay what you wish; click here to register
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concert
concert
Kristallnacht Commemoration – In-person Program
Join us for a tribute to the artists who perished in the Holocaust, and whose music and poetry we keep alive today. This concert features important works by Hans Krása, Viktor Ullman, Pavel Haas, James Simon, Gideon Klein, and Erwin Schulhoff, performed by the young artists of the Mannes School of Music.
Ticket Info: $18; ASJM, YIVO, LBI & CJH members: $12 Seniors & students: $9
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concert
The Dave Tarras Legacy – In-person Program and Live on Zoom
Dave Tarras (1897-1989) was the individual most responsible for the development of a uniquely American style of Jewish klezmer music. Born into a large klezmer family in Podolia, central Ukraine, Tarras immigrated to New York in 1921. Here his talent was immediately recognized, and he was quickly conscripted into the local music scene. The year 2025 represents the centennial of Tarras’ initial recordings from 1925. His sparkling five-decade recording career documents his innovations — a new corpus of repertoire as well as a refined style that reflected musically the aesthetics of an upwardly-mobile and assimilating mid-century American Jewish community.
In the mid-1970s, Tarras mentored the young musicians Andy Statman and Walter Zev Feldman, and the three worked together to present a series of tours and an important recording sponsored by the Balkan Arts Center (now the Center for Traditional Music and Dance). The program sparked a revitalization of klezmer on the East Coast, which has blossomed into an international revival of Yiddish culture. Statman would follow in his mentor’s footsteps and become recognized as the first clarinet virtuoso produced by the klezmer revival.
Please join us for this special concert celebrating Tarras’ 100-year recording legacy and its impact on American klezmer featuring three of the contemporary Yiddish music scene’s leading performers — NEA National Heritage Fellow Andy Statman (clarinet), Dan Blacksberg (trombone) and Pete Rushefsky (tsimbl/cimbalom).
This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.
Ticket Info:
In-person: $15; YIVO members & students: $10
Livestream: Free; registration is required
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concert
concert
Jewish Songs and Dances for Piano: Juliusz Wolfsohn’s 'Paraphrasen' – Live on YouTUbe
Join YIVO for a YouTube premiere performance of Juliusz Wolfsohn’s Paraphrasen: a collection of 12 virtuosic piano fantasies based on Yiddish folksongs. Wolfsohn was a Warsaw- born pianist, critic, and composer who was active in the Association for the Promotion of Jewish Music in Vienna. Born in Warsaw in 1880, Wolfsohn later settled in the United States, where he died in 1944. Paraphrasen is one of multiple works Wolfsohn composed on Eastern European Jewish themes.
This collection of 12 pieces will be performed by Ryan MacEvoy McCullough.
The Sidney Krum Young Artists Concert Series is made possible by a generous gift from the Estate of Sidney Krum.
This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.
Ticket Info: Free; register for an email reminder.
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concert
Hanukkah Concert 2025 – In-person Program
Celebrating the joys of the season, the American Society for Jewish Music's Annual Hanukkah concert has been a popular mainstay for many years. Co-sponsored by YIVO, the performance celebrates this joyous holiday with songs and stories that charm and delight audiences.
Ticket Info: $18; ASJM & YIVO members: $12; Seniors & students: $9
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