Giora Feidman
Human-like clarinet cries and laughs that bridge the gap between sacred tradition and classical elegance. Soulful, expressive, and deeply moving Jewish folk music.
Human-like clarinet cries and laughs that bridge the gap between sacred tradition and classical elegance. Soulful, expressive, and deeply moving Jewish folk music.
Listening to Giora Feidman is like hearing a human voice trapped inside a wooden tube. His clarinet does not just play notes; it sighs, it chuckles, it wails, and it prays. There is a profound, elastic quality to his timing that feels less like a metronome and more like a heartbeat. Whether he is performing a traditional nigun or a Gershwin standard, the music carries a weight of history that is simultaneously heavy with grief and light with survival.
What sets Feidman apart is his 'Klezmer-Classical' bridge. Having spent decades in world-class orchestras, he brings a refined technical precision to a genre that is often raw and rowdy. He treats the clarinet as a 'singing' instrument, utilizing microtonal bends and sudden shifts in volume to mimic the inflections of Yiddish speech. It is sophisticated enough for a concert hall but intimate enough for a kitchen table.
Start with 'Jewish Soul Music' to hear the core of his spiritual identity, or 'Clarinetango' to witness how he weaves his Argentine roots into the klezmer tapestry. If you recognize his haunting tone, it is likely from his iconic solo work on the 'Schindler's List' soundtrack, which remains the definitive example of his ability to convey wordless tragedy.
Giora Feidman (Hebrew: גיורא פיידמן; born 25 March 1936) is an Argentine-born Israeli clarinetist who specializes in klezmer music.
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