Wednesday, October 5, 2022

Kol Nidrei

 Mischa Maisky plays Kol Nidrei with Max Bruch 

Today is Yom Kippur, a day of atonement and the holiest day in Judaism.  The Yom Kippur service traditionally includes an ancient and mournful melody called the "Kol Nidre," which is also the basis of a concert piece by composer Max Bruch, written for solo cello and orchestra in 1880.   

The German National Socialist Party during the 1930's  assumed that Bruch was of Jewish origin and banned his music until Germany's defeat in the Second World War. Fortunately, for Bruch, who was raised Protestant, and whose ancestors were not Jewish, his music survived the persecution and Kol Nidrei is still firmly planted in the canon of every cellist. 

Have a listen to Ukrainian born cellist Mischa Maisky play this soulful piece.