Concert to mark the 65^th Anniversary of the Liquidation of the Litzmannstadt Ghetto by the Germans

 

Their repertoire steeped in the tradition of Romani music, Kočani Orkestar is an authentic folk orchestra from a Macedonian village, recalling the folk roots of the region’s culture. The musicians draw from the traditions of this wandering nation and thus reconstruct both the Romani and the Balkan identity, as well as joint threads in the cultural narratives of all of Central Europe. They combine this return to heritage with the contemporary pulse of traditional sounds. The Israeli musicians of the Boom Pam collective also have a bold approach to their traditional legacy. Drawing from klezmer music, they show the relationships between Jewish music and folk sounds from the Balkans. They also merge these sounds with lively American surf pop from the 1950s. Both groups prove that music takes its strength from tradition and memory of sources, but that – like a ludic element – it is first and foremost a universal language of communication beyond all cultural divides.

 

Kočani Orkestar – a famous Romani brass group from the Macedonian village of Kočani, which earned its fame in Emir Kusturica’s film Time of the Gypsies. Their work – for two trumpets, three tubas, a saxophone, clarinet, zyrle (a traditional oboe) and drums – is dubbed Romani Oriental Music. It is an explosive mixture of orchestral sounds, Turkish-Balkan rhythms, and compelling solos. The group’s leader is the charismatic Naat Veliov.

 

 

Boom Pam – one of the biggest discoveries in world music in recent years. This powerful ethno-dance-rock collective from Israel combines energetic Balkan folk, Jewish tradition, surf pop and dance beats. ‘Some think we’re crazy, but our music really does give you Tel Aviv – a place where people from all over the world meet,’ says head man Yulav ‘Tuby’ Zolotov. A mix of film soundtracks by Tarantino and Bregovic, played with klezmer style, gypsy verve and jazz virtuosity.

 

 

The majority of the Litzmannstadt Ghetto’s inhabitants were Jews, but there were also a considerable number of Romani, something which has escaped the inhabitants’ collective memory and has been marginalized by historians. This open-air concert at the Manufacture Square, the onetime factory of Izrael Poznański, is dedicated to the Jewish and Romani ghetto victims. 

 

curator: Łukasz Lubiatowski