Abe Ellstein portrait from YIVO collection

Abraham "Abe" Ellstein ( yi, אַבֿרהם עלשטײן, , July 7, 1907 – March 22, 1963) was an American

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

for

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

entertainments. Along with Shalom Secunda,

Joseph Rumshinsky Joseph Rumshinsky (1881–1956) was a Jewish composer born near Vilna, Lithuania (then part of Russian Poland). Along with Sholom Secunda, Alexander Olshanetsky and Abraham Ellstein, he is considered one of the "big four" composers and conductors ...

, and

Alexander Olshanetsky Alexander Olshanetsky (1892–1946) was a Jewish-American composer, conductor, and violinist. He was a major figure within the Yiddish theatre scene in New York City from the mid-1920s until his death in 1946. Life and career Was born in Odessa ...

, Ellstein was one of the "big four" composers of his era in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Yiddish Theater District The Yiddish Theatre District, also called the Jewish Rialto and the Yiddish Realto, was the center of New York City's Yiddish theatre scene in the early 20th century. It was located primarily on Second Avenue, though it extended to Avenue B, b ...

scene. His musical '' Yidl Mitn Fidl'' became one of the greatest hits of Yiddish-language cinema.

Life and career

He was born on the

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally an im ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, at that time an

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...

an Jewish immigrant area. His musical education began at the

Third Street Music School Settlement Third Street Music School Settlement is the longest-running community music school in the United States. Founded in 1894, it is at 235 East 11th Street, New York. Third Street has three main programs: a music & dance school, a music-infused Presc ...

. From the age of nine to thirteen, he studied piano with

Frederick Jacobi Frederick Jacobi (May 4, 1891 – October 24, 1952) was a Jewish-American composer and teacher. His works include symphonies, concerti, chamber music, works for solo piano and for solo organ, lieder, and one opera. He taught at Juilliard School o ...

. He was the conductor of the boy's choir of the Broadway production ''Richard III'', at only thirteen years old. He went on to study at the Graduate School of Juilliard, training as a conductor, with a major in composition. Ellstein's only opera, ''The Golem'', had its world premiere at the New York City Opera under the baton of music director Julius Rudel on March 23, 1962. The libretto was created by the composer and his wife, Sylvia Regan, based on the mythical Golem tale of the Central European Jews.

Works

* '' Der berditshever khosn'' (The Bridegroom from

Berditchev Berdychiv ( uk, Берди́чів, ; pl, Berdyczów; yi, באַרדיטשעװ, Barditshev; russian: Берди́чев, Berdichev) is a historic city in the Zhytomyr Oblast (province) of northern Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center ...

: by

Israel Rosenberg Israel (also Yisroel or Yisrol) Rosenberg (c. 1850 – 1903 or 1904; Yiddish/Hebrew: ישראל ראָזענבערג) founded the first Yiddish theater troupe in Imperial Russia. Life Having been a "hole-and-corner lawyer" (without a diplom ...

, 1930,

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...

) ** '' Zog Es Mir Nokh Amol'' (Tell Me Again); lyrics: Jacob Jacobs * '' Eyns un a rekhts'' (One in a Million: by Anschel Schorr, 1934: musical comedy) ** '' Oygn'' (Eyes); lyrics: Molly Picon * '' Yidl Mitn Fidl'' ( Joseph Green or

Josef Grünberg Joseph Green (April 23, 1900 Zylbercweig, Zalmen, with Jacob Mestel, Eds. (1931).Grinberg, Yosef. ''Leksikon fun yidishn teater'' exicon of the Yiddish theatre New York: Farlag "Elisheva". Vol. 1, col. 532. English translation/adaptation availab ...

, 1936, romantic musical comedy film) ** '' Oy Mame, Bin Ikh Farlibt'' (Oh, Mama, I am in Love) * ''

Mamele ''Mamele'' ( yi, מאמאלע pl, Mateczka) is a Yiddish Language Polish musical film made in 1938. Synopsis Set in Łódź, the film revolves around Khavtshi Samet ( Picon), a Cinderella figure, who has taken on maternal responsibility for her f ...

: Kid Mother'' (by Edmund Zayenda, 1938,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

: Yiddish

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

) ** '' Abi Gezunt'' (So Long As You're Healthy); lyrics: Molly Picon ** '' Ikh Zing'' (For You I Sing); lyrics: Molly Picon ** '' Mazl'' (Good Fortune); lyrics: Molly Picon * Bublitshki (Little

Bagel A bagel ( yi, בײגל, translit=beygl; pl, bajgiel; also spelled beigel) is a bread roll originating in the Jewish communities of Poland. It is traditionally shaped by hand into a roughly hand-sized ring from yeasted wheat dough that is first ...

s: 1938, operetta) ** ''

Der Alter Tsigayner Der or DER may refer to: Places * Darkənd, Azerbaijan * Dearborn (Amtrak station) (station code), in Michigan, US * Der (Sumer), an ancient city located in modern-day Iraq * d'Entrecasteaux Ridge, an oceanic ridge in the south-west Pacific Ocean ...

'' (The Old Gypsy); lyrics: Jacob Jacobs * '' Der Nayer Sher'' (The New Sher, 1940) * '' Ikh bin farlibt'' (I'm in Love: by William Siegel, 1946: romantic musical comedy) ** '' Ikh Vil Es Hern Nokh Amol'' (I Want to Hear it Again); lyrics: Molly Picon * ''A Heymisher Bulgar'' (1947) * ''Great to Be Alive!'' (1950), musical comedy on Broadway * '' Vos Iz Gevorn Fun Mayn Shtetele?'' (Whatever Became of My Shtetl?: by Menashe Skulnik, 1970s,

); lyrics:

Isidore Lillian Isidore Lillian (Yiddish language, Yiddish: איזידאָר ליליען ''Izidor Lilien'') (c. 1882 - 1960) was an actor, songwriter, playwright, and composer who was a leading figure in the New York Yiddish Theatre for the first half of the twen ...

* "'' Hassidic Dance''"

Notes and references

Ellstein, Abe
on the Freedman Catalog, University of Pennsylvania

on Abaton-Kino * *

External links

Guide to the Abraham Ellstein papers
at the American Jewish Historical Society, New York, NY *Th
Abraham Ellstein and Sylvia Regan papers
at th
American Heritage Center
Yiddish theatre Jewish American composers 1907 births 1963 deaths Musicians from New York City 20th-century American composers 20th-century American Jews {{US-composer-20thC-stub

Life and career

Works

See also

Notes and references

External links