Anne E. Leibowitz Memorial Concert | An elegant illuminating retrospective program devoted to classic treasures of secular Hebrew song and the poetry that has inspired this rich variety of musical expression for more than a century. Presented in the intimate setting of a traditional Liederabend (song evening) appropriate to the immediacy of this evocative experience, the recital will feature three of its leading interpreters: Ilana Davidson, Raphael Frieder, and Elizabeth Shammash together with world-renowned virtuoso pianist Yehudi Wyner. These memorable renditions of songs both familiar and forgotten convey universal humanistic themes as well sentiments of national-cultural rebirth and solidarity. Offerings will include songs by composers such as Moses Milner, Joel Engel, Joseph Achron, Mikhail Gnesin, Alexander Krein, Paul Ben-Haim, Marc Lavry, Menahem Wisenberg, Tzvi Avni, Aaron Copland, and Kurt Weill — along with a nostalgic array of some of the most beloved and enduring “Songs of the Land of Israel” in artistic arrangements.
The concept and content of this Hebrew Liederabend has been devised by YIVO’s Anne E. Leibowitz Visiting Professor-in-Residence in Music, Neil W. Levin, who will deliver the pre-concert lecture on the development of the modern Hebrew song tradition, its literary basis, and the spirit of rejuvenation that drove it.