A showcase of artists and ensembles representing the enormous range of today’s Yiddish music launches this year’s YSW with a festive, open-air concert.

In a rare opportunity to see three of the most influential and beloved klezmer musicians of their generation on stage together, the Strauss/Warschauer Duo and special guest Ziliyn Biret present a program about love, unity, and the golden chain of Yiddish culture that spans the generations. The trio draws from traditional Jewish music and adds their own original compositions, creating deeply felt music to connect us and lift our spirits.

When Sasha Lurje and Ilya Shneyveys perform with their Yiddish psychedelic rock band Forshpil, their powersound is anything but the nostalgia often associated with Yiddish song. And when they perform as a duo, old Yiddish love ballads come alive in a scintillating fusion of tradition and innovation. Centuries-old songs express the issues of today — love, hate, heartbreak, sacrifice, long-distance relationships and more. Lurje’s traditional folk singing style blends perfectly with Shneyveys’ accompaniment that uses modern rock instruments, harmonies, rhythms and effects, creating fresh and strikingly new soundscapes.

Shneyveys, internationally recognized as an innovative klezmer musician and conductor, then conducts the brand-new, 25-piece YAM Ensemble, which brings together young professional musicians living in Germany, Greece and Turkey to explore the rich musical connections between East European Jewish and Ottoman music. “YAM,” which means “sea” in Hebrew and Yiddish, is an homage to the intertwined musical traditions of the region around the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, including Greco-Turkish, Middle Eastern and Yiddish music.

After a week rehearsing in the "Music Village" Agios Lavrentios near Thessaloniki, the ensemble comes to Thuringia to present a program that celebrates each of these distinct yet interconnected traditions. Get ready for an energetic concert from a young, enthusiastic new generation of musicians who are carrying these musical traditions into the future.

In case of rain the concert will be presented twice, once at 18:30 and once at 21:00, in the Musikschule Johann Nepomuk Hummel. If you have already bought a ticket for the open air concert, you will have to choose which of the indoor concerts you want to attend. 
We will send out an email on the morning of the concert to inform you if there are changes due to the weather. In case of bad weather, please take a look at our website, which will also be updated in case of a location change.

Line-up:
Ziliyn Biret (Réunion) - clarinet, flute, voice
Sasha Lurje (LV/D) - voice
Ilya Shneyveys (LV/US) - accordion, piano
Deborah Strauss (US) - violin, voice, dance
Cantor Jeff Warschauer (US) - guitar, mandolin, voice
YAM Ensemble (D/GR/TUR) conducted by Ilya Shneyveys (LV/US)