Alter ChudnoverAlter Chudnover (Yiddish: אלטער טשודנאָװער, c. 1846–1913), whose real name was Yehiel Goyzman or Hausman (יהיאל גױזמאַן or הױזמאַן), was a nineteenth century Klezmer violinist from the Russian Empire.[1][2][3] He was one of a number of virtuosic klezmers of the nineteenth century, alongside Yosef Drucker "Stempenyu", A. M. Kholodenko "Pedotser" and Josef Gusikov.[4][5][6] He was also an early teacher to the violinist Mischa Elman.[6][7] BiographyYehiel Goyzman was born in Chudniv, Volhynian Governorate, Russian Empire (now in Zhitomir Oblast, Ukraine) in the 1840s; some sources give the year as 1846,[2] and others as 1849.[1] He was born into a Klezmer family; his father Leyb Goyzman was also a violinist.[1][6] Yehiel showed musical talent at an early age and was apparently sent to Warsaw to study violin; when he returned to Chudniv he joined his father's orchestra.[1] Yehiel soon became famous as a lead violinist and teacher, and gained a reputation as a very modern instructor who required his students to be able to read sheet music and to learn modern musical technique.[1][3][7] He also became popular among Russian aristocrats, as was his contemporary Pedotser; and would travel to distant parts of the Russian Empire, Romania and Austria-Hungary to perform at weddings or other events.[2][6] There was also a competing klezmer ensemble in Chudniv led by Baruch Beckerman, father of the American klezmer Shloimke Beckerman.[8] He tried emigrating to the United States in around 1902, accepting the invitation of his brother who had been there since 1888.[1] But he soon returned to Europe when he found his status was much lower in America.[9] Although some sources say he died in 1912, it seems he actually died on 27 March, 1913.[2][6] LegacySome of Alter Chudnover's sons, who were also professional musicians, met with Soviet ethnomusicologist Moisei Beregovsky in Kyiv in 1934.[1] They donated some manuscripts of his compositions to Beregovsky, which ended up in the collection of the Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine.[1] Other manuscripts apparently survived in Chudniv in Goyzman's former house until they were destroyed during World War II.[6] Beregovski included one extended composition by Alter Chudnover in his Jewish Instrumental Folk Music volume.[10][11] References
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