Composer Shulamit Ran
Theodore Bikel with Marion Marlowe.
Theodore Bikel.
Theodore Bikel as Tevye in "Fiddler on the Roof".
Dave Brubeck with Darius Milhaud.
Dave Brubeck with Erich Kunzel and Duke Ellington, The Gates of Justice recording session, Cincinnati, Ohio.
Aaron Avshalomov.
Composer Aaron Jay Kernis. Milken Archive interview. New York, New York.
Abraham Ellstein. The famous Yiddish theater composer in his early 20s, ca. 1929.
Abraham Ellstein. Shown here as a young cantor. Date unknown.
Alberto Mizrahi. The Gates of Justice recording session, Goucher College. Baltimore, Maryland.
Alexander Olshanetsky. One of Second Avenue's "big four" composers, Olshanetsky also wrote a small amount of liturgical music.
Alexander Olshanetsky. “Dear Nito: Always remember your father, who loves you very much.” As a sought-after composer and conductor, Olshanetsky spent a great deal of time away from home.
Amy Goldstein.
Arianne Slack. Milken Archive One People, Many Voices concert, Walt Disney Concert Hall. Los Angeles, California.
Charles Davidson talks with Barry Serota. Milken Archive Editorial Board Meeting. Santa Monica, California.
Composer Ben Zion Shenker in New York City.
Bruce Adler. Milken Archive One People, Many Voices concert, Walt Disney Concert Hall. Los Angeles, California.
Bruce Adler and Joanne Borts. Milken Archive One People, Many Voices concert, Walt Disney Concert Hall. Los Angeles, California.
Bruce Adolphe. Milken Archive oral history session. New York, New York.
Cantor Benzion Miller. Milken Archive recording session, The Warehouse. London, England.
Cantor Benzion Miller. Milken Archive recording session, New West End Synagogue. London, England.
Cantor Benzion Miller with young choristers. Milken Archive recording session, New West End Synagogue. London, England.
Cantor Benzion Miller and members of Schola Hebraeica. The First S'liḥot recording session, New West End Synagogue. London, England.
Cantor Ida Rae Cahana. Milken Archive recording session for A Reform Sabbath Eve Service, Riverside Church. New York, New York.
Cantor Ida Rae Cahana, Samuel Adler, and Cantor Perry Fine. Milken Archive recording session for A Reform Sabbath Eve Service, Riverside Church. New York, New York.
Cantor Moshe Ganchoff. Milken Archive oral history session. Jewish Theological Seminary. New York, New York.
Cantor Moshe Ganchoff. New York, New York.
Cantor Moshe Ganchoff. Jewish Theological Seminary. New York, New York.
Portrait of a young Cantor Moshe Ganchoff.
Cantor Moshe Ganchoff and Milken Archive Artistic Director Neil Levin. Milken Archive oral history session. New York, New York.
Cantor Moshe Ganchoff and Yiddish theater and radio star Seymour Rechtzeit. Ratner's Deli, New York, New York. Both were mainstays at the WEVD radio station in New York.
Top (L to R): Danny Gildar, Neil W. Levin, Jack Mendelson, and Nathan Lam. Milken Archive oral history session with Cantor Moshe Ganchoff. Roumanian Synagogue. New York, New York.
Cantor Moshe Ganchoff with former students cantors Jack Mendelson and Nathan Lam; seated at the piano is Danny Gildar, a cantor and renowned cantorial accompanist. Milken Archive oral history session. Jewish Theological Seminary. New York, New York.
Cantor Moshe Ganchoff with former students cantors Nathan Lam and Jack Mendelson, and Milken Archive Artistic Director Neil W. Levin. Milken Archive oral history session. New York, New York.
Portrait of Cantor Moshe Koussevitzky.
Young Benzion Miller (left) with the venerable Moshe Koussevitzky (right). Miller currently serves as cantor at Young Israel Beth-El of Boro Park—a post once held by Koussevitzky.
Charles Davidson conducting at Congregation Adath Jeshurun. Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. ca. 1970s.
Charles Davidson. Milken Archive Editorial Board Meeting. Santa Monica, California.
Composer Alexandre Tansman.
Composer Arnold Schoenberg
Composer Ernst Toch.
Composer Igor Stravinsky.
Composer Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco at his home in Beverly Hills, California, ca. 1960.
Composer Nathaniel Shilkret.
Composers Charles Davidson and Ofer Ben-Amots. Milken Archive Editorial Board meeting. Santa Monica, California.
Composers Igor Stravinsky and Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco.
Darius Milhaud with wife Madeleine. California, ca. 1950.
Darius Milhaud. Milhaud's "Jewish" opus, Service Sacré, was recorded by the Milken Archive in its entirety for the first time.
Dave and Iola Brubeck. 1971.
Dave Brubeck. The Gates of Justice recording session, Goucher College. Baltimore, Maryland.
Dave Brubeck with civil rights activist Ralph Abernathy.
Dave Brubeck and Russell Gloyd. The Gates of Justice recording session, Goucher College. Baltimore, Maryland.
Dave and Iola Brubeck.The Gates of Justice recording session, Goucher College. Baltimore, Maryland.
Dave Brubeck, Kevin Deas, and Alberto Mizrahi. The Gates of Justice recording session, Goucher College. Baltimore, Maryland.
David Amram. An eclectic composer, Amram believes that studying jazz and world musics can deepen our appreciation of the classical canon.
David Amram.
David Amram. Philadelphia, 1960.
David Amram. 1967.
David Amram and Leonard Bernstein. 1967. Bernstein appointed Amram as the first composer-in-residence at the New York Philharmonic.
David Diamond. Amongst Diamond's significant recognitions is the William Shuman Lifetime Achievement Award, which he received in 1986.
David Diamond. Milken Archive oral history session. Rochester, New York.
Producer David Frost with Dave Brubeck. Frost received a Grammy Award for producer of the year for his work on Brubeck's The Gates of Justice and four other Milken Archive recordings.
David Krakauer. Bebelplatz monument. Berlin, Germany.
David Krakauer. Milken Archive recording session, Jesus-Christus-Kirche. Berlin, Germany. Krakauer has been a major innovator in the field of contemporary klezmer music.
Conductor Gerard Schwarz, Milken Archive Artistic Director Neil Levin, clarinetist David Krakauer, and composer Henri Lazarof. Brandenberg Gate, Berlin, Germany.
Photo still from the 1915 silent film, Der Golem, one of three golem films by German writer and director Paul Wegener.
Elizabeth Shammash
Elmar Oliveira and Richard Sandler. Milken Archive CD series launch party, Museum of Jewish History. New York, New York.
Freydele Oysher. Internationally known Yiddish theater performer and primary resource in the Milken Archive's Yiddish theater project.
Freydele Oysher.
Gerard Schwarz. In preparation for a recording session with David Krakauer and the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin.
Gerard Schwarz.
Gerard Schwarz conducts the Rundfunk-Sinfornieorchester Berlin. Avodat Shabbat recording session, Jesus-Christus-Kirche. Berlin, Germany.
Gerard Schwarz. Avodat Shabbat recording session, Jesus-Christus-Kirche. Berlin, Germany.
Gerard Schwarz. Klezmer Rondos recording session, Benaroya Hall. Seattle, Washington.
Gerard Schwarz. Milken Archive recording session, Jesus-Christus-Kirche. Berlin, Germany. Recorded pieces include Jacob Weinberg's Canzonetta and The Maypole, and Abraham Ellstein's Hassidic Dance.
Gerard Schwarz and Alberto Mizrahi. Klezmer Rondos recording session, Benaroya Hall. Seattle, Washington.
Herman Berlinski and Gerard Schwarz. Milken Archive recording session. Berlin, Germany.
Gerard Schwarz conducts the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester. Milken Archive recording session, Jesus-Christus-Kirche. Berlin, Germany.
Gerard Schwarz and members of the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester at the steps of the historic Jesus-Christus-Kirche church in Berlin, Germany.
Gerard Schwarz and Richard Sandler. Milken Archive concert. Prague, Czech Republic.
Gerard Schwarz, Carol Meyer, Elizabeth Shammash, Richard Clement, Ted Christopher, and Members of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. Milken Archive concert. Prague, Czech Republic.
Gerard Schwarz, Herman Berlinski, Richard Sandler and Lowell Milken. Milken Archive recording session. Berlin, Germany.
Milken Archive Founder, Lowell Milken, congratulates Gerard Schwarz after a live performance. Prague, Czech Republic.
Gerard Schwarz, Richard Sandler, and Lowell Milken. Milken Archive concert. Prague, Czech Republic.
Gerard Schwarz, Robert Brubaker, the Ernst Senff Choir, and the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin. Avodat Shabbat recording session, Jesus-Christus-Kirche. Berlin, Germany.
Harold Sternberg. A primary resource in the Milken Archive's Yiddish theater project, Sternberg was a Yiddish theater performer.
Harold Sternberg.
Harold Sternberg and Freydele Oysher.
Herbert Fromm
Herbert Fromm.
Herman Berlinski. Avodat Shabbat recording session, Jesus-Christus-Kirche. Berlin, Germany.
Herman Berlinski. Milken Archive recording session. Berlin, Germany.
Herman Berlinski. (Credit: From the collection of Sina Berlinski)
Sketch of Herman Berlinski by Xavier Gonzales. McDowell Colony, 1957.
Herman Berlinski in front of his former family home. Leipzig, Germany.
Herman Berlinski.
Herman Berlinski and Lowell Milken. Milken Archive recording session. Berlin, Germany.
Herman Berlinski, Gerard Schwarz, Richard Sandler, and Lowell Milken. Avodat Shabbat recording session, Jesus-Christus-Kirche. Berlin, Germany.
Herman Yablokoff and wife Bella Meisel. Yablokoff was one of the most pervasive personalities on Second Avenue in the 1930s and 40s, and Meisel was a well known singer and actress. The two frequently performed together.
Ḥalutzim dancing the hora on a kibbutz.
Hugo Weisgall. A prolific composer of opera and orchestral works, Weisgall served at the Jewish Theological Seminary for forty-four years.
Ilia Trilling. Though less well known than the "big four," Trilling composed many popular songs for the Yiddish stage.
Ira Biegeleisen.
One of the great writers of Yiddish fiction, and the only one to date to have received the Nobel Prize in literature (1978), Isaac Bashevis Singer's writings have provided inspiration for a number of modern Jewish musical and dramatic works.
Isaiah Sheffer. Founder and artistic director of Symphony Space in New York City.
Jack Gottlieb.
Portrait of composer Jack Gottlieb, 1970.
Jack Gottlieb. Milken Archive oral history session. New York, New York.
Jacob Jacobs. A well known and sought-after lyricist, Jacobs penned the lyrics to many of Second Avenue's most memorable songs, including Bay mir bistu sheyn.
Jacob Weinberg. Born in Odessa, Weinberg came to the United States in 1926 and was actively involved in New York's intellectual Jewish music circles.
Jan Meyerowitz.
Composer Joelle Wallach. Milken Archive interview. New York, New York.
Joseph Achron (right) with members of the cast of The Golem. H. Leivick (center), New York. Achron composed incidental music for the play The Golem, which he later turned into an orchestral suite.
Joseph Rumshinsky. A prominent composer on the Yiddish theater scene in the early 20th century, Rumshinsky is portrayed here as a confident conductor.
Judith Lang Zaimont. With students at the University of Minnesota.
Composer Judith Shatin
Julius Chajes. A refugee from the Third Reich, Chajes became an important musical figure in Detroit, Michigan.
Kevin Deas. The Gates of Justice recording session, Goucher College. Baltimore, Maryland.
Kurt Weill. Salzburg, Austria. ca. 1934.
Lazar Weiner.
Lazar Weiner. Shown here as a young synagogue chorister.
Lazar Weiner. At his barn studio, Catskill Mountains, summer 1937.
Lazar Weiner. At his barn studio, Catskill Mountains. Date unknown.
Lazar Weiner. Conducting.
Lazar Weiner. Reflecting on his discovery of Yiddish music before his death, Lazar Weiner remarked, "All my life it was Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, Brahms, Schubert. . . . Here in America I discovered the Yiddish song!"
Lazar Weiner. At the piano with son Yehudi Wyner.
Lazar Weiner. At the piano with son Yehudi and daughter-in-law Susan Davenny-Wyner.
Composer Leonard Bernstein with his wife Felicia in Jerusalem, 1948.
Leonard Bernstein.
Leonard Bernstein conducts the CBS broadcast of his Hashkiveinu with Cantor David Putterman (front) and the Park Avenue Synagogue choir.
Leonard Bernstein and Aaron Copland.
Leonard Bernstein, Cantor David Putterman, and Max Helfman. World premiere performance "Hashkivenu" by Leonard Bernstein, May 11, 1945. The Park Avenue Synagogue/David J. Putterman Music Collection, Box 11, The Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary.
Lillian Lux. Former Yiddish theater performer and primary resource in the Milken Archive's Yiddish theater project. Lux's son, Mike Burstyn, is also an accomplished performer in the contemporary Yiddish theater scene.
Lillian Lux.
Lowell Milken. Avodat Shabbat recording session, Jesus-Christus-Kirche. Berlin, Germany.
Lowell Milken, Gerard Schwarz, and Richard Sandler. Avodat Shabbat recording session, Jesus-Christus-Kirche. Berlin, Germany.
Lowell Milken, Robert Brubaker, and Herman Berlinski. Avodat Shabbat recording session, Jesus-Christus-Kirche. Berlin, Germany.
Composer Lukas Foss. New York, New York.
Marvin David Levy. Boca Raton, Florida.
Max Helfman.
Members of the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester. Avodat Shabbat recording session, Jesus-Christus-Kirche. Berlin, Germany.
Robert Brubaker and the Rundfunk-Sinfornieorchester Berlin. Avodat Shabbat recording session, Jesus-Christus-Kirche. Berlin, Germany.
Members of the Baltimore Choral Arts Society. The Gates of Justice recording session, Goucher College. Baltimore, Maryland.
Members of the Vienna Boys Choir. Milken Archive recording session, Casino Zoegernitz. Vienna, Austria.
Members of the Vienna Boys Choir. Israel Suite recording session. Vienna, Austria. May 2000.
Meyer Kupferman. A painter as well as a composer, Kupferman was a great admirer of Chagall.
Meyer Kupferman. "I like to mix things that normally don’t mix. It’s a bit like walking down Broadway, or riding the subways of New York. There’s sort of a mix of love and hate, fears, joys, and tragic components, all mingled in the sights and sounds around you. I think that because I’m a New Yorker, I have this sense of what can happen in a very tiny area between all of these unmixable elements."
Michael Isaacson and Robert Starer in studio, Brooklyn College. New York, New York. 1968. Isaacson started graduate studies at Brooklyn College under the tutelage of Robert Starer.
Michael Isaacson and Robert Starer, Brooklyn College. New York, New York. 1968.
Michael Isaacson and Jack Gottlieb. Four Sabras recording session. University of Rochester, New York. May 1993.
Michael Moore. The Gates of Justice recording session, Goucher College. Baltimore, Maryland. Moore is the bassist of the Dave Brubeck Trio.
Michael Shapiro. Milken Archive oral history session. New York, New York.
Mina Bern. Amongst the most celebrated performers in Second Avenue's "heyday," Bern was a primary resource in the Milken Archive's Yiddish theater project.
Mina Bern.
Milken Archive artistic director Neil Levin and members of the Vienna Boys Choir. Israel Suite recording session. Vienna, Austria. May 2000.
Neil Levin, David Schiff and David Amram at a composer's symposium held at the University of Michigan in conjunction with one of the Milken Archive's Jewish operas recording sessions.
Neil Levin, David Schiff, and David Amram at a composer's symposium held at the University of Michigan in conjunction with one of the Milken Archive's Jewish operas recording sessions.
Nell Snaidas. Milken Archive One People, Many Voices concert, Walt Disney Concert Hall. Los Angeles, California.
Nick Strimple.
Ofer Ben-Amots. Though born in Israel, Ben-Amots has stated, "It was only outside Israel that I discovered my Jewishness from a religious perspective, and the richness and beauty of Jewish liturgical music."
Paul Schwendener and Cantor Raphael Frieder. Milken Archive CD series launch party, Museum of Jewish History. New York, New York.
Raphael Frieder.
Cantor Raymond Smolover. Milken Archive oral history session. New York, New York.
Joseph Papp (left), producer of the New York Shakespeare Festival, and David Amram during King John rehearsals at the Public Theater, 1967. Longtime collaborators, Amram composed scores for 25 of the Festival's productions.
Richard Sandler, Arianne (Slack) Brown, Raphael Frieder, and Simon Spiro. Milken Archive CD series launch party, Museum of Jewish History. New York, New York.
Richard Sandler, Lowell Milken, and Neil Levin. Avodat Shabbat recording session, Jesus-Christus-Kirche. Berlin, Germany.
Clarinetist Richard Stoltzman was the first wind player to be awarded the Avery Fisher Prize.
Richard Wernick. A composer of many accomplishments, Wernick was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in music in 1977.
Richard Wernick. In reference to his range of musical styles and techniques, Richard Wernick has said, “I find this mixture of old and new, consonant and dissonant, tonal and nontonal, a comfortable one in which to live and create.”
Robert Abelson.
Composer Robert Beaser. Milken Archive interview. New York, New York.
Robert Brubaker. Avodat Shabbat recording session, Jesus-Christus-Kirche. Berlin, Germany.
Robert Brubaker and the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin. Avodat Shabbat recording session, Jesus-Christus-Kirche. Berlin, Germany.
Robert Merrill. A famous opera singer in the late 20th century, Merrill sang occasionally in Yiddish vaudeville shows and in the Catskill Mountains.
Robert Starer. Brooklyn College. New York, New York. 1968.
Robert Starer. Milken Archive oral history session. Woodstock, New York. Regarding the Jewish aspects of his work in general, Starer has reflected, "While I was never in the employ of a synagogue or a Jewish organization, I have written music of Jewish interest all my life."
Robert Starer. Milken Archive oral history session. Woodstock, New York. Starer's compositions have been conducted and performed by such world-renowned artists as Leonard Bernstein, Zubin Mehta, Itzhak Perlman, and Janos Starker.
Robert Starer. Milken Archive oral history session. Woodstock, New York. While much of Robert Starer's early work dealt with blending European and Near Eastern musics, his later work reflected jazz and avant-garde influences.
Robert Strassburg. For many decades, Strassburg was a prominent figure in the musical and Jewish cultural life of Los Angeles.
Robert Strassburg. Brandeis-Bardin Institute. Santa Susana, California. As a teacher at the Brandeis-Bardin Institute, Strassburg influenced many contemporary Jewish composers.
Robert Strassburg.
Robert Strassburg and Neil Levin. Milken Archive oral history session. Brandeis-Bardin Institute. Santa Susana, California.
Samuel Adler.
Seymour Rechtzeit. An important primary resource in the Milken Archive's Yiddish theater project, Rechtzeit was a famous Yiddish theater performe and radio host, as well as the founder of Banner Records.
Seymour Rechtzeit.
Seymour Rechtzeit and Miriam Kressyn. Both were well known performers in the celebrated "heyday" of the American Yiddish theater.
Seymour Rechtzeit. At the piano.
Seymour Rechtzeit, Robert Abelson and Neil Levin. Mount Hebron Cemetery, Flushing, New York. The cemetery is home to the grave of Boris Thomashevsky and many other important Yiddish theater figures.
Composer Sholom Kalib. Chicago, Illinois.
Sholom Secunda. Although Secunda claimed to have concluded his Second Avenue career after The Kosher Widow in 1959, he was still writing for Yiddish shows well into the 1960s.
Simon Spiro. Milken Archive One People, Many Voices concert, Walt Disney Concert Hall. Los Angeles, California.
Simon Spiro.
Sketch of the set design for Kurt Weill's The Eternal Road by Harry Horner.
The Western Wind vocal ensemble.
Vivian Fine ca. 1975.
Vivian Fine at the age of 19.
Vivian Fine ca. 1958.
Yehudi Wyner. Although his public persona rests primarily on his contributions as a composer, Wyner has also enjoyed a notable reputation as a pianist and conductor.
Yehudi Wyner. Milken Archive oral history session, Brandeis University. Waltham, Massauchusetts.
Portrait of Cantor Yossele (Joseph) Rosenblatt.
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