Presented by Saul Lilienstein
Music Historian, Smithsonian Affiliates in D.C., Johns Hopkins University, Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Center
George Gershwin’s music has always been synonymous with the sound of America, yet from the start of his career, his music was infused with Jewish culture. George didn’t have to - and didn’t - write anything for the synagogue to prove that.
In this talk, Lilienstein will connect Gershwin’s music to the Jewish sources that were intrinsic to his creativity. We will listen to examples of the music from NY’s Lower East Side (where Gershwin was born) fusing with the music of Harlem (where he spent his teenage years) and discover the unique synthesis Gershwin created from these varied influences.
Registration is no longer open for this program. You can watch the recording of the talk online here.
A former student of Leonard Bernstein, Saul Lilienstein holds B.A. and M.S. degrees in music from Queens College. Lilienstein was for many years the Artistic Director and Conductor of Maryland’s Harford Opera Theatre and then of Operetta Renaissance in Baltimore, conducting and producing in all well over fifty operas. He initially came to the attention of Maryland audiences as Director of Music for The Handel Choir of Baltimore and the Harford Choral Society. Concurrently and continuing over the decades, Saul was the hidden presence in the choir loft of the Chizuk Amuno Congregation, directing the music.
Today, he continues as a highly regarded Professor of Music in the Washington area. His is a familiar voice at the Smithsonian Institution, Johns Hopkins University, at the Goethe Institut, for symphonic concerts at the Kennedy Center, opera lectures for Washington National Opera, and at music symposiums in New York, Boston, San Francisco, and Palm Beach. Lilienstein’s subjects range from the Origins of Opera to the Origins of Jazz, from Bach and Beethoven to Music of the Gypsies, from Immigrant Cultures to Music of The Beatles. He has now completed over eight-five highly acclaimed Commentaries on CD for The Washington National Opera, analyzing the repertoire in the most extensive series of its kind in the English language.
Lilienstein's essays on music have appeared in newspapers throughout the country, in journals, and in anthologies.