three weeks/beregovski

[Joel Rubin <simontov...>]

I'm certainly no halachic authority, but the duration of the ban on
orthodox Jews' listening to or enjoying music during the period prior to
tishe-bov/tisha b'av does depend on who is doing the defining. According to
Sephardic orthodoxy, the mourning period begins with the first of Av, as
far as I understand, this year the 4th of August. 

We now have the interesting case that, under Sephardic jurisdiction, the
Jewish Music Research Centre of the Hebrew University and the World Union
of Jewish Studies have organized a concert for Thursday, 31 July honoring
the (Ashkenazic) Jewish music collections of Russia and Ukraine (i.e. those
of Moyshe Beregovski and his predecessors Sh. An-Ski, Joel Engel, Zusman
Kiselgof, St. Petersburg Gezelshaft far yidisher folks-muzik, etc.), which
will be taking place within the framework of the 12th World Congress of
Jewish Studies in Jerusalem (29 July-5 August). 

The music is being coordinated by Musa Berlin, and I will be performing as
well. I am not at all orthodox, but many of the performers, including Musa
Berlin, are (and are Ashkenazic). The concert is a part of a 2 day
mini-conference on the Russian/Ukrainian collections. Participants will
include myself, Mark Slobin, Judit Frigyesi, Walter Zev Feldman, Israel
Adler and others (including a representative from the State Library in
Kiev). 

Joel Rubin
London