Re: Leon Wajner

[Judy Pinnolis <pinnolis...>]

Lori:
About LOC-- authors are often given assigned spellings of their names and
also if their birth and death dates are know, those are often included in
the author's file. So, if you have a Russian or Polish or another name where
an English language version may vary, --where the spelling might be
different according to how it is translated,-- then there is going to be
assigned the "authoritative" spelling, so-to-speak, of that name, for the
LOC. And the files may be linked to variant spellings in library catalogs,
which is often helpful. Take a look at 'Tchaikovsky', for example! Imagine
all the variant spellings of that one name and you get the idea how complex
this can be. 

In terms of the biography-- yes, very useful. I've started keeping a
"vertical file" of biographical information about Jewish musicians and
composers. So if anyone wants to send me interesting bios, I keep them in a
file. Eventually, it will all add up. A "vertical file" is, basically, the
library term for a file drawer.
Judy

Lori Cahan-Simon wrote:
> 
> You are very welcome Judy.  Will it be useful for you?  I posted it for two
> reasons: 1) I assume it is hard to find, 2) I translated from Spanish and a
> person looking for it may not read the language.
> 
> Thanks for the date.  I had that from somewhere else, but forgot to put it in!
> Please tell me about the LoC authority files.
> 
> A dank,
> Lorele
> 
> Judy Pinnolis wrote:
> 
> > Lori:
> > Thank you very much for this bio.
> > FYI: According to a Library of Congress authority file, he died in 1979.
> > Judy
> >
> > Lori Cahan-Simon wrote:
> > >
> > > Khaverim,
> > >
> > > A while ago I asked you if anyone had any information on the composer Leon
> > > Wajner.  Some suggested he was the same person as Lazar Weiner, but I knew
> > > he was not.  I just hit the jackpot and found a bio in a collection of his
> > > songs, Cantos de lucha y resurgimiento (Songs of Struggle and
> > > Resurrection).  I will summarize for you:
> > >
> > > Leon Wajner was born in Lodz in 1898 into a family of cantors.  He studied
> > > viola, conducting, etc., from the State Conservatory in Warsaw.  Between
> > > the years 1915 and 1939 he was a prize winning violist and toured Europe,
> > > taught singing and music in various schools and directed various choirs
> > > and orchestras, was musical director of the Polish Military Theater in
> > > Lublin, as well as acting as Minister of Religion and Culture.
> > >
> > > He was called to service in the Polish army and was imprisoned by the
> > > Russians on September 17, 1939 and held in Rovno, Volinia, where Wajner
> > > organized various choruses, again touring throughout Russia, 1940-1944,
> > > ending in Biro Bidyan (which I believe was the area set aside for a
> > > "Jewish Homeland" by the Russians.  Even though the land was said to be
> > > fertile, the effort was unsuccessful.)
> > >
> > > At the end of WWII he was repatriated to Poland where he found not one
> > > member of his family.  His wife and daughter ended their days in the
> > > Warsaw Ghetto.  Eventually he heard from some surviving relatives in Chile
> > > and Israel.
> > >
> > > Until 1948 he took up his old occupations and began composing to honor and
> > > remember the heroes and those killed.  He collaborated with Shmerke
> > > Kaczerginski to produce a collection of 96 songs of the Ghetto and of the
> > > Partisans entitled Undzer Gezang, 23 of which were Wajner's compositions.
> > > He also published a musical setting for the poem by Wladyslaw Broniewski,
> > > "To the Jews of Poland", dedicated to the heroes of the Warsaw Ghetto
> > > Uprising, in the form of a cantata for soloists, chorus and orchestra.  It
> > > was premiered on April 19, 1948, the 5th anniversary of the uprising,
> > > during the unveiling of the monument to those heroes in Warsaw in the
> > > presence of Jewish delgates from around the world.  During this period he
> > > began a professional relationship with the singer Rivka Klinicki, who
> > > later became his wife.  In 1948 they worked in Paris and Italy, teaching
> > > and concertizing.
> > >
> > > In 1949 they moved to Buenos Aires and Wajner taught and conducted for
> > > many schools and organizations, and continued touring with his wife as
> > > singer throughout Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil.  He also continued his
> > > composing, being prolific in his works in memory of the European Jewish
> > > communities and turning toward the next generation with songs for children
> > > (which is where I first encountered his work).  Some later titles
> > > include:  "Expresiones" for viola and piano; "Meditations on Jewish and
> > > Argentinian motifs", fantasia for piano;  "Jewish Dance" for piano.  Many
> > > articles were published about Wajner and Klinicki, from 1938 to 1962, in
> > > Europe, the U.S. and South America.  Sadly, the pre-war compositions of
> > > Leon Wajner are lost to us.
> > >
> > > I hope you have enjoyed my short recounting of the life and work of
> > > composer, conductor, performer, and educator Leon Wajner.
> > >
> > > Lorele
> > >
> > >
> >
> 

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