The Thomashefskys
At opening night of Michael Tilson Thomas’ guest performances for the LA Phil last weekend, friends welcomed friends for a warm and rollicking taste of the by-gone days of Yiddish Theatre. One patron said, “This is the place to be!”
If there was ever an opportunity to sample the music that influenced George Gershwin and subsequent musical composers, this was the place to be. Many people are unaware of Tilson Thomas’ heritage as the grandson for Yiddish diva Bessie Thomashevsky and her wayward husband Boris, who helped bring the American Yiddish theatre into being around the turn of the last century.
Family concerts featuring his grandmother and father, Ted Thomas, are childhood memories that pushed young Michael toward a career in music. And, if his performance on opening night is any testimony, had he not become a classical conducter, a tin-pan alley career would have served as runner-up. Tilson Thomas brought down the house with a song popular in 1910: “Who Do You Suppose Married My Sister? Thomashevky!”
Tilson Thomas’ program began at the beginning of Yiddish Theatre on the outskirts of Russia almost 150 years ago when an itinerant minstrel, Abraham Godlfaden, first cobbled together synagogue chants, folk songs and grand opera to create entertainment for the people who spoke Yiddish across national lines. His most famous operetta is Koldunye (The Witch) composed in 1879. Two of the superb ensemble, Tamara Wapinsky and Eugene Brancoveanu, sang several numbers from this early work.
But the Yiddish composer Joseph Rumshinsky provided the frame for the varied line-up that included rollicking musical theatre numbers and soaring arias–- what Tilson Thomas called “the split between classic and shund (trash).” Rumshinsky’s Khantshe in America set the tone, beginning with the overture to Khantshe (1915) and ending with the title song from Vi Mener Libn (The Way Men Love) 1919.
Intertwining the songs thoughout the program moved the tantalizing history of Tilson Thomas’ two grandparents. Judy Blazer stood in for the fiery Bessie, while Neil Benari portrayed the matinee idol, Boris– both to great effect. Tilson Thomas completed his reminiscence with classic last words from his matriarch: on her death bed, Bessie is recorded as saying, “Never, never sign a release.”
The Thomashevskys performed on December 18th through 20th at Walt Disney Concert Hall, 135 N. Grand Ave., Los Angeles 90012. Tilson Thomas next directs the San Francisco Symphony at Walt Disney Concert Hall January 26th and 27th at 8:00 P.M. For more information call LA Phil at (323) 850-2000. For group tickets phone the box office at (323) 850-2050.