The String Company

KLEZ & MEHR | To the Jewish Treasure of Erfurt

World music - Balkan - Gypsy - Klezmer - Chanson - this is what characterizes the Erfurt ensemble The String Company. The musicians come from very different musical worlds and, thanks to their long-standing friendship, know how to express this "multi-stringedness" in their music.

The concert draws a rich mosaic of sounds, rhythms and melodies from the world music, Balkan, klezmer and folk traditions. In this way, a wonderful bridge is built between the different cultures that the musicians know how to tell. Uzbek-born violist Lev Guzman and Serbian accordionist Ljubo Mitrović have brought the passionate klezmer and Balkan music from their homeland to Erfurt and found musicians in the band The String Company who appreciate the richness of color and the narrative power of this music and carry it forward. Songs will be performed in English, Russian, Polish, Yiddish, Hebrew, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Serbian, Arabic and German.

At the heart of the concert, the ensemble presents the song cycle on the Jewish Treasure of Erfurt: by breathing life into the famous wedding ring, the harp key and a small silver box from the Jewish Treasure with music and poetic texts, these objects are transformed from mere objects into living testimonies of our history. In the song "Tojwle" we accompany a young bride into the mikvah, immerse ourselves with her in the spiritual atmosphere and bring the past to life through music.

Musicians: Reinhard Schwalbe - violin | Silke Krappel - accordion | Peter Kluge - guitar | Marion Minkus - vocals | Nils Würfel - double bass

This event is co-financed by tax funds on the basis of the budget approved by the Saxon State Parliament.