Ko-opting Klezmer: The Politicization of a Genre  with Josh Horowitz

Klezmer music developed from the 16th to the late 20th Century primarily as wedding music. Gradually, however, klezmer music began to serve other purposes outside life cycle celebrations. It has undergone a radical transformation since the beginning of its early documentation in the 1890s, both musically and socially. This lecture traces the changes klezmer has undergone, from its functions during the wedding, to the contemporary stage, culminating in the current “Balkanization, Gypsification and Mainstreamicization” of the music itself. Josh will explain the forces that act upon and sometimes corrupt klezmer music in the service of ideas and ideologies in our swiftly changing world including its use as a symbol in Germany against right wing tendencies and in support of gay rights, and its implementation in Polish commerce and philosemitism.