Klezmer sounds in the university library

The Jewish festival of Hanukkah lasts eight days. The date varies every year - this year it began on Thursday, December 7, 2023, in the Jewish year 5,784, and ends on December 15. The University Library took the Festival of Lights, which takes place close to the German Advent and Christmas celebrations, as an opportunity to invite the "Hamburg Klezmer Band" to a klezmer concert in the University Library on December 7, 2023.
The invited Hamburg Klezmer Band consists of four musicians who have already been active in various projects worldwide. All of them have Jewish roots, mainly in the countries of the former Soviet Union. The four played a versatile and varied program of Jewish, Moldovan, Ukrainian and Romanian music with virtuosity, "a lot of soul" and joie de vivre. The band masters traditional klezmer music, but also explores other genres. Their first CD "In the Beginning" was released in 2010. In 2016, the band recorded the soundtrack for the film "Chika, the Bitch in the Ghetto".

In contrast to the depressing news from the Middle East, the concert was a cheerful and encouraging experience for the large audience. This Hanukkah concert continued the series of events organized by the University Library to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel with lectures and an exhibition of 32 posters on the theme of "1948", which runs until 15 December (Text: Andrea Cramer | all photos: ThHF).