Re: Leon Wajner

[Lori Cahan-Simon <l_cahan...>]

Thanks Judy.  It's good to know.  I may call on you for some other biographical
information, if I may.

Lorele


Judy Pinnolis wrote:

> 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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