Lieutenant Joseph Frankel (1882-1956) was an American

klezmer Klezmer ( yi, קלעזמער or ) is an instrumental musical tradition of the Ashkenazi Jews of Central and Eastern Europe. The essential elements of the tradition include dance tunes, ritual melodies, and virtuosic improvisations played for l ...

musician,

clarinetist This article lists notable musicians who have played the clarinet. Classical clarinetists * Laver Bariu * Ernest Ačkun * Luís Afonso * Cristiano Alves * Michel Arrignon * Dimitri Ashkenazy * Kinan Azmeh * Alexander Bader * Carl Baermann * ...

and

military band A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind and percussion instruments. The conductor of a band commonly bears the tit ...

bandleader of the early 20th century.

Biography

Early life

Frankel was born in

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

Kiev Governorate Kiev Governorate, r=Kievskaya guberniya; uk, Київська губернія, Kyivska huberniia (, ) was an administrative division of the Russian Empire from 1796 to 1919 and the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic from 1919 to 1925. It wa ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

on October 19, 1882. He began learning music at age five. He entered the

Kiev Conservatory Pyotr Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine ( uk, Національна музична академія України імені Петра Чайковського) or Kyiv Conservatory is a Ukrainian state institution of higher music e ...

in 1896, graduating with honours in 1899. After graduating, he became bandleader for the 150th infantry unit of the Imperial Russian army.

Music career

In 1904, Frankel toured the United States as the head of the Russian 14th regiment military band. He decided to settle in the New York area, and married his wife Ida in 1905. At the outbreak of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he was on tour in South America with a Russian orchestra. He decided to become an American citizen and enlisted in the U.S. Army, becoming bandmaster of the 1st Field Artillery Regiment in New York City. His main recorded output took place during the period immediately after the First World War. During the period of 1919 to 1921 he recorded a series of

music recordings for

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

. Some of these recordings incorporated elements of popular American music, with titles such as ''Yiddelach Shimmy Tantz'' (1919) or ''Yiddishe Blues'' (1919). In the 1920s Frankel relocated to Philadelphia, where he directed a number of orchestras, not only the band of the

108th Field Artillery Regiment Not Self—But Country , command_structure = 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team , current_commander = MAJ Jason S. Grentus , garrison = Carlisle, Pennsylvania , battles = American Civil WarWorld War IWorld War IIKorean War Operation Iraqi Freed ...

, the Municipal Band of Philadelphia, and the Hahnemann College orchestra. He apparently resigned his military commission in 1926. In 1928 Frankel volunteered his time as a bandleader to train a 25-person band at the National Farm School. In the 1930s, with funding from the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

, Frankel put together a 90-person orchestra. Frankel died while visiting

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

on July 12, 1956. He was buried in the Montefiore Cemetery in

Jenkintown, Pennsylvania Jenkintown is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It is approximately 10 miles (16 km) north of Center City Philadelphia. History The community was named for William Jenkins, a Welsh pioneer settler. Jenkintown is located just ...

References

External links

Joseph Frankel handwritten music scores
in the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

collection
Lt. Joseph Frankel Orchestra recordings
in the

Florida Atlantic University Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, and satellite campuses in Dania Beach, Florida, Dania Beach, Davie, Florida, Davie, Fort Lauderd ...

Judaica collection
Lt. Joseph Frankel's Orchestra recordings list
at the

Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The DAHR provides some of these original recordings, free of charge, via audio streaming, along with ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frankel, Joseph 1882 births 1956 deaths Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States Musicians from Kyiv Klezmer musicians Jewish American musicians United States military musicians Columbia Records artists Musicians from Philadelphia American clarinetists