Reviews:

MUSICWEB INTERNATIONAL

“(The David Amram) is a fascinating sonata and one that makes me keen to hear more…(Ellstein’s) Haftorah is loving, impassioned and reverential. It smokes with sinuous ululation…(the Avidom) Concertino is a worldly sweet lilt of a piece with a sort of Havanaise air to it…An attractive and unhackneyed selection of music by Jewish composers much of it with an exotic edginess.”

NEWMUSICBOX

“Abraham Ellstein, though best known for his scores for the Yiddish Theater and Broadway, also penned his share of large and small-scale concert music, including this cantorial setting for violin and piano. “Haftorah” is here recorded by Zina Schiff on her third collection of Jewish music, Elijah’s Violin. This brief, charming work captures the ambiance of a Sabbath prayer and then develops into a showpiece while keeping well away from any sort of sentimental caricature.”

HADASSAH MAGAZINE

“…at once lively and meditative, rich and spare. Many – such as Julius Chajes “Hechassid” – draw inspiration from traditional Jewish themes.”

Track List

Sonata for Violin and Piano* – David Amram

Orientale* – Efrem Zimbalist

Arabic Song & Improvisation and Dance*

Zwei Stucke* – Julius Chajes

Ancient Hebrew Airs – Paul Kirma