Pearlman show on PBS

[Noah Schaffer <bj193...>]

Readers of htis newsgroup may want to watch the current PBS
special on Yitzchak Pearlman playing klezmer music. (Contact your
local station for times, etc.)


I'm afraid that I was rather disapointed with this show. While it
was nice that groups like the Klezmatics, Klezmer Conservatory Band, Brave Old
World, etc. got to be on national television, the music played
was far below what they are capable of. This was a result of the
fact
that the entire program is merely Pearlman walking into rooms
with these bands and jamming without any real care for making
thoughtful musical statements. One could even agrgue that Perlman
showed a rather arrogant, patronizing attitude towards klezmer--he can just 
pick up his fiddle and play, without bothering to create music with any 
intelligence--after all, this is "simple folks" music.

I hope that this impression is the result of shoddy film making
rather than anything else (the prodcution values were very poor). Is anyone
familiar
with the companion CD?

In the meantime, I'll put on my Davka and Abby Rabinowitz CDs so
that I can hear klezmer/classical fusion by people who really care.
-- 
Noah Schaffer
Brookline MA
Personal mail: bj193 (at) yfn(dot)ysu(dot)edu or nschaffer (at) bje(dot)org 
(less likely to bounce)
Newspaper Feedback: cadence (at) world(dot)std(dot)com