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Joseph Moskowitz

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Joseph Moskowitz
Born1879
Galați, Romania
DiedJune 1954 (aged 74–75)
Washington, D.C., United States
GenresKlezmer, Romanian folk music
Occupation(s)musician, restaurant owner
Instrumentcimbalom
LabelsVictor Recording Company, Brunswick Records
Joseph Moskowitz playing the cimbalom (c.1920s)

Joseph Moskowitz (Yiddish: יאָסעלע מאָשקאָװיטש, 1879 – June 1954) was an American cimbalom player, composer, restaurant owner and recording artist in New York City during the first half of the twentieth century. A descendant of a family of klezmer musicians, he was among the most well-known American cimbalom players of his time, and had a wide repertoire which included not only Jewish music but also Romanian, classical, and ragtime music.[1] He is thought to have composed over 100 cimbalom pieces which drew upon various musical influences. His restaurant Moskowitz & Lupowitz, on Second Avenue also became a popular destination and celebrity hangout in the 1920s and 1930s.

Biography

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Early life

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Moskowitz was born in Galați, Romania, in July 1879.[2][3][4] His father Moses Moskowitz (nicknamed Moshe Tsimbler) was a klezmer musician and cimbalom player who was Joseph's first teacher.[5][6][7] Joseph learned the cimbalom as well as the violin from his father.[7] Another relative, Joseph's cousin nicknamed Jonah Tsimbler (Diamant) also became a cimbalom player.[7] Joseph was a childhood friend of the writer Konrad Bercovici, also born in Galați.[8] As a youth, Joseph toured Hungary, Romania, Galicia, and Istanbul, and played on river boats on the Danube.[9][7][10][4][11] He apparently toured and performed with Broder singer troupes as well.[7] He emigrated to the United States in December 1907 with his wife Rebecca, sailing from Bremen.[12][7][13][6]

Studio portrait of Blondzhene shtern troupe c.1906 with Joseph Moskowitz standing in the back

Music and restaurant career

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Moskowitz's original reason to travel to the United States was apparently an invitation to perform in Boston.[9] After making appearances in cafés there and in New York, Moskowitz toured the United States for the next five years, often with the Matus Gypsy Ensemble or in hotel orchestras.[7][4][14] That tour apparently did a lot to develop what would become his style and repertoire, which came to include not only Jewish and Romanian music but also international cosmopolitan repertoire and contemporary American music.[4] At some point between 1909 and 1913 (sources disagree), he opened a restaurant, the Moskowitz Wine Cellar, on Rivington Street in Manhattan's Lower East Side.[15][16][6][9][4] His wife was the cook.[15] This restaurant was a narrow cellar lit by gas lamps, with pastoral Romanian scenes painted on the wall, where up to a hundred customers smoked and drank wine while listening to his playing.[17] He became a Naturalized citizen of the United States in March 1915.[5]

His recording career began in 1916, a time when the "ethnic" recording industry in New York was expanding aggressively. He recorded roughly 30 sides for Victor Records in 1916-7, including especially Romanian music, but also ragtime, klezmer, and various European and South American pieces.[18][19] His recordings from that era were all made with piano accompaniment, usually by Max Yussim, who he occasionally performed in concert with as well.[18] His wide performing repertoire and deep knowledge of Romanian music also apparently influenced other Jewish recording artists in the New York area, such as Dave Tarras.[20]

He soon relocated to Houston Street and opened Little Rumania. The restaurant became quite popular, especially among Romanian Jews and young writers, and was soon expanded into the adjoining cellar to make room for the growing clientele.[8][15] There, Moskowitz played his instrument, often sharing the stage with top violinists and pianists.[8] Stephen Graham, a British writer who spent time in New York in the 1920s, wrote an account of a night he spent in Little Rumania.[21] He said that earlier in the evening, Moskowitz circulated among the guests while a singer and pianist performed Yiddish and American numbers. Then, when the place was full, Moskowitz got on stage and performed various European folk numbers (Romanian, Hungarian, Russian, French) as well as some light classical music by Tchaikovsky and Brahms. It was only much later in the night that he would play dance tunes which were danced by a group of Jewish men.[21]

Joseph Moskowitz, c.1910s

He later opened a new restaurant on Second Avenue at Second Street called Moskowitz & Lupowitz. This new upscale restaurant began to attract celebrities, bohemians, and writers, including Jascha Heifetz, Eddie Cantor, Sid Caesar, Mischa Elman, Joseph Pulitzer, Abraham Reisen and H. L. Mencken.[22][23][24][4][15] He continued to entertain his patrons with his music performances late into the night, as they ate the hearty Romanian Jewish cuisine.[25]

In the 1920s Moskowitz regularly performed on the radio in the New York area, on stations such as WGBS, WEAF, and the WJZ network. These were often solo performances, but also often included accompaniment by his longtime pianist Max Yussim. The music he played on the radio often consisted of classical works or his own arrangements of Russian, Romanian and Jewish folk music.[26][27] He also came to the attention of Samuel Roxy Rothafel and became an occasional featured artist of his popular "Roxy and the Gang" series.[28][29] Moskowitz appeared on stage regularly in this era as well, including at Carnegie Hall and New York's Town Hall.[9][30][31][32][33] Joseph remarried in March 1924 to his second wife Rose.[34]

Although he recorded occasionally in the early 1920s, his next major phase of recording seems to have been in 1927-8, when he recorded a few more solo records and around 10 klezmer and Romanian pieces with Alexander Olshanetsky's orchestra on Brunswick Records, featuring Shloimke Beckerman on clarinet.[4][18]

In the 1930s, Moskowitz continued to operate his restaurant and perform. He seems to have toured in Montreal in 1936.[35] He is thought to have made an uncredited appearance playing his cimbalom in two restaurant scenes in Joseph Seiden's 1939 Yiddish language talkie Der Lebediker Yosem (The Living Orphan). Moskowitz finally left New York in around 1940. He had a dispute with Lupowitz and decide to sell his share in the restaurant.[36] Louis Anzelowitz, who had been a butcher in the restaurant, bought Joseph's shares and eventually became the sole owner, operating it until 1966.[36] Under the new management, the restaurant kept the Moskowitz & Lupowitz name and continued to attract celebrities.[37]

Joseph Moskowitz and musicians in Washington, D.C., circa 1950

After leaving New York, Moskowitz lived in Akron, Ohio starting in around 1940, playing concerts at the Jewish Center there and in the Romany Restaurant.[38][39][40][41] He also continued to compose new music while in Akron, sometimes under the name Joseph Moss.[42] By 1943, he left Akron and relocated to Washington, D.C.[43][44] In Washington, Joseph played regularly at Michel's French Restaurant near Dupont Circle from 1943 until his death.[6][10][4] His final recording session in Washington in 1953 was released as a 10-inch record, Cymbalom Melodies, on Romany Records.[4] It was recorded at Michel's Restaurant with Bela Hargy accompanying him on piano, and consisted mainly of Romanian music.[9][45] (Selections from that album, along with many of his earlier recordings, were reissued by Rounder Records in 1996 on the cd The Art Of The Cymbalom: The Music Of Joseph Moskowitz 1916–1953[46])

He died of heart problems at George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C., on June 27, 1954; he was 76 years old.[6][10][44] He was buried in the Mount Lebanon Cemetery in Adelphi, Maryland.[44]

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Moskowitz and his restaurant appeared in a number of memoirs and novels in his time, including New York Nights (1927) by Stephen Graham, Jews without Money (1930) by Mike Gold, Dust of New York (1919) by his childhood friend Konrad Bercovici, and Gershn in Amerike (1963) by Chaver-Paver (Gershon Aynbinder).

Moskowitz claimed to have composed over 100 pieces during his life, although it is unclear how many were adaptations of existing folk melodies.[44] During the Klezmer revival of the late 1970s and 1980s, there was renewed interest in finding, reissuing and reinterpreting old recordings of Jewish music. Interpretations of his recordings and compositions were made by groups such as the Klezmer Conservatory Band,[47] The Klezmatics[48] and the Flying Bulgar Klezmer Band.[49] Moskowitz's original tracks also appeared on a number of reissue compilations over the years, including Classic Ragtime (RCA Victor/BMG, 1998),[50] Klezmer Pioneers: European and American Recordings, 1905-1952 (Rounder Records, 1993),[51] From Avenue A to the Great White Way (Columbia Records, 2002),[52] Klezmer Music: Early Yiddish Instrumental Music: 1908-1927 (Arhoolie Records, 1997),[53] as well as an entire reissue CD dedicated to his recordings: The Art of the Cymbalum (Rounder Records, 1996).[54]

References

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  1. ^ Feldman, Zev (2016). Klezmer : music, history and memory. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. p. 101. ISBN 9780190244514.
  2. ^ "U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 for Joseph Moskowitz". Ancestry Library. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  3. ^ "Joseph Moskowitz in the U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942". Ancestry Library. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Spottswood, Dick; Blanton, Nicholas (1996). The Art Of The Cymbalom (CD). Rounder Records. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  5. ^ a b "U.S., Passport Applications, 1795-1925". Ancestry.com. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  6. ^ a b c d e "CLOSING CHORD. JOSEF MOSKOVICI (MOSKOWITZ)". International Musician. 53 (2): 33. August 1958.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Zylbercweig, Zalmen; Mestel, Jacob (1931). Leḳsiḳon fun Yidishn ṭeaṭer Vol. 1 (in Yiddish). New York: Elisheva. pp. 231–2.
  8. ^ a b c Berkovici, Konrad (1921-11-13). "Moskowitz--To his Cellar Door a Path Was Made". New York Evening Post.
  9. ^ a b c d e Burger, Andrew H. (1954). Cymbalom Melodies (LP). Romany Records.
  10. ^ a b c "Joseph Moskowitz, 76, Dies; Noted Player of Gypsy Music". Times Herald. 1954-06-25. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  11. ^ Sapoznik, Henry (2006). Klezmer! : Jewish music from Old World to our world (2nd ed.). New York: Schirmer Trade Books. p. 21. ISBN 0825673240.
  12. ^ "Joseph Moskowitz in the New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957". Ancestry Library. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  13. ^ "Josef Or Joseph Mosckowitz Or Moskowitz. Migration • New York, County Naturalization Records, 1791-1980". FamilySearch. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  14. ^ "CHAMPION CYMBALIST IS PLAYING HERE NOW". The New York Times. 26 April 1908. p. C4.
  15. ^ a b c d "Joseph Moskowitz Looks Back 20 Years". The New Leader. No. 15. 8 November 1930. p. 7.
  16. ^ Gold Levi, Vicki; Shepard, Richard F. (1982). Live & Be Well. A Celebration of Yiddish Culture in America from the First Immigrants to the Second World War. New York: Ballantine Books. p. 112.
  17. ^ Sapoznik, Henry (2006). Klezmer! : Jewish music from Old World to our world (2nd ed.). New York: Schirmer Trade Books. pp. 41–2. ISBN 0825673240.
  18. ^ a b c "Moskowitz, Joseph - Discography of American Historical Recordings". Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  19. ^ Rust, Brian (2001). Jazz and Ragtime Records, 1897 – 1942. Mainspring Press. p. 1204.
  20. ^ Rubin, Joel (2020). New York klezmer in the early twentieth century : the music of Naftule Brandwein and Dave Tarras. Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press. p. 267. ISBN 9781580465984.
  21. ^ a b Graham, Stephen (1927). New York Nights. New York: George H. Doran Co. pp. 151–9.
  22. ^ Moss, Jeremiah (29 November 2010). "Moskowitz & Lupowitz". Jeremiah's Vanishing New York. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  23. ^ Botoshansky, Jacob (1967). Ophandlungen un rayze-ayndruḳn (in Yiddish). Buenos Aires: Aroysgegeben durkh dem direḳṭoryom fun der ḳrediṭ-ḳooperaṭiṿe Laṿozshekho. pp. 171–2.
  24. ^ Chaver-Paver (1963). Gershn in Ameriḳe (in Yiddish). Warsaw: Ikuf. pp. 383–7.
  25. ^ Razumny, Mark (1930). Eyner tsṿishn milyonen fun an Ameriḳaner nesie (in Yiddish). Riga: Bikher far alemen. pp. 97–9.
  26. ^ "RADIO PICKUPS". Lockport Union-Sun and Journal. 1926-12-24.
  27. ^ "WEAF--New York City--492". The Brooklyn Standard Union. 1924-04-22.
  28. ^ "ROXY AND HIS GANG". Elmira Star-Gazette. 1928-12-03.
  29. ^ "Cymbalom player featured on WJZ". New York Sun. 1928-12-01.
  30. ^ Swan, Gilbert (1930-11-11). "IN NEW YORK". The Morning Herald.
  31. ^ "Joseph Moskowitz Gives Program at Town Hall". New York Tribune. 1921-11-24.
  32. ^ "JOSEPH MOSKOWITZ. Heard in Cimbalom Recital". The Billboard. 1921-12-03.
  33. ^ "Musical Calendar". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 1927-04-24.
  34. ^ "Rose Moskowitz, New York, U.S., Naturalization Records, 1882-1944". Ancestry.com. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  35. ^ "Local Reports". International Musician. 35 (4). American Federation of Musicians: 18. October 1936.
  36. ^ a b Craig, Gary (2018). "3". Tugging on the sleeve of fame. Albany, GA: BearManor Media. ISBN 9781629333502.
  37. ^ Dunlap, David W. (16 March 2012). "A Time of Green Matzo Balls and Yiddish Theater". City Room. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  38. ^ "Local Reports". International Musician. 38 (9). American Federation of Musicians: 24. March 1940.
  39. ^ "Advertisement. BEAUTIFUL ROMANY OPENS TOMORROW". Akron Beacon-Journal. 1938-08-31.
  40. ^ "Cymbalom Concert Enables Akronite to Realize Desire of Years". Akron Beacon-Journal. 1938-04-16.
  41. ^ "Joseph Moskowitz. Census • United States Census, 1940". FamilySearch. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  42. ^ "Musical Compositions". Catalog of Copyright Entries. 35 (3). U.S. Govt. Print. Off.: 923 1940.
  43. ^ "Local Reports". International Musician. 42 (9). American Federation of Musicians: 17. March 1944.
  44. ^ a b c d "Joseph Moskowitz, 76, Dies; Noted Player of Gypsy Music". The Washington Post. No. 206. Washington, D.C. 29 June 1954. p. 16.
  45. ^ "Josef Moskovici – Cymbalom Melodies (1954, Vinyl)". Discogs. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  46. ^ "Joseph Moskowitz – The Art Of The Cymbalom: The Music Of Joseph Moskowitz 1916-1953 (1996, CD)". Discogs. 1996. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  47. ^ "Dance Me to the End of Love". Internet Archive. 2000. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  48. ^ "Possessed". Internet Archive. 1997. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  49. ^ "Flying Bulgar Klezmer Band". Internet Archive. Traditional Crossroads. 1999. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  50. ^ "Classic Ragtime". Internet Archive. RCA Victor. 1998. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  51. ^ "Klezmer Pioneers: European and American Recordings, 1905-1952". Internet Archive. Rounder. 1993. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  52. ^ "From Avenue A to the Great White Way". Internet Archive. 2002. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  53. ^ "Klezmer Music: Early Yiddish Instrumental Music: 1908-1927". Internet Archive. Arhoolie. 1997. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  54. ^ "The Art Of The Cymbalom". Internet Archive. 1996. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
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