RE: Shmaltz

[Yoel Epstein <yoel...>]

I can't help you with the etymology of schmaltz, but I must leap to the defense 
of Leopold Auer.  My teacher, Ruth Ray, was a student of his, as were Heifetz, 
Milstein, and dozens of other violinists who created the violin sound that we 
know today.  Kreisler, on the other hand, and other violinists associated with 
schmaltz like Hubermann, were not students of Auer's.  Auer himself, 
incidentally, would not, I believe, have taken a position on the schmaltz vs. 
straight debate.  He simply believed that a teacher had to get the best out of 
his students, whatever happened to be in them.

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From:   Paul M. Gifford[SMTP:PGIFFORD (at) flint(dot)umich(dot)edu]
Sent:   éåí ùéùé 05 éåðé 1998 16:00
To:     World music from a Jewish slant.
Subject:        Shmaltz

Would anyone care to define "shmaltz" in musical terms?  My parents
were musicians, and I learned the term in its musical sense before
I realized it was Yiddish for chicken fat (which I learned from 
Jewish friends at age 12 or so).  My understanding of "shmaltz" is
overly sentimental music (usually violin music), typified by Fritz
Kreisler's pieces or playing, and used in a disparaging way.  I 
would guess that the term may have been popularized by Auer school 
violinists.  Was it klezmer slang?  Is it in use in Europe?  Is it 
still in general use among violinists in the U.S., or should it now 
be regarded as old-fashioned or dated?  Can it be defined better?

Paul Gifford

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