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| {{Short description|Russian-born American Jewish composer}} | |||
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| '''Joseph Brody''' ({{ |
'''Joseph Brody''' ({{langx|yi|יוסף בּרױדי}} {{transl|yi|Yossef Broydi}}) (1876/1877 – 1937) was an American Jewish composer who wrote for the ] as well as liturgical Jewish works. He taught ] and was a friend of ].<ref name="NYT obit">{{cite news |title=JOSEPH BRODY DEAD; A JEWISH COMPOSER; Choirmaster, Writer of Sacred Songs and Former Associate of Cantor Rosenblatt (Published 1937) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1937/08/17/archives/joseph-brody-dead-a-jewish-composer-choirmaster-writer-of-sacred.html |work=The New York Times |date=1937-08-17}}</ref> His daughter, ], was an actress. | ||
| ==Biography== | ==Biography== | ||
| {{Tone|date=December 2022}} | |||
| ===Early life=== | ===Early life=== | ||
| Brody was |
Brody was born on March 12, 1877, according to his gravestone,{{cn|date=August 2024}} in ], ], in the ], although the ] gives the date as February 12, and in own his naturalization application he stated his birthday was January 22, 1876.<ref name="LFYT1 240-1">{{cite book |last1=Zylbercweig |first1=Zalmen |last2=Mestel |first2=Jacob |title=Leḳsiḳon fun Yidishn ṭeaṭer Vol. 1 |date=1931 |publisher=Elisheva |location=New York |pages=240–1 |url=https://www.yiddishbookcenter.org/collections/yiddish-books/spb-nybc201089 |language=yi}}</ref><ref name="natl rec">{{cite web |title=New York, County Naturalization Records, 1791-1980 |url=https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9M8-WLRX?cc=1999177&wc=MDSY-CNG%3A326209701%2C329440401 |website=FamilySearch |accessdate=November 14, 2020}}</ref> His father, Harris Brody, was a tailor and sent Joseph to a ] for his early education.<ref name="Perlmutter 349">{{cite book |last1=Perlmutter |first1=Sholem |title=Yidishe dramaṭurgn un ṭeaṭer ḳompoziṭors |date=1952 |publisher=Ikuf |location=New York |page=349 |url=https://www.yiddishbookcenter.org/collections/yiddish-books/spb-nybc209311 |language=yi}}</ref> | ||
| His father emigrated to the ] in 1887, at which point Joseph entered a ] in ], where he stayed for six years. During that time he developed an aptitude for music, and was greatly impressed by the military orchestras which regularly played in the park in Slonim during the summers.<ref name="LFYT1 240-1" /> | |||
| After being noticed by ]s who visited the Yeshiva in Slonim, he decided to drop out and followed cantor Moshe Bass to ], where he became a choirboy. It was there that he learned music theory and studied Hebrew and Russian.<ref name="Perlmutter 349" /> Upon losing his Soprano voice, he began to compose cantorial compositions, and was hired by Cantor Kahane in ] as a choir conductor, and after that under cantor Yoel Zelig in ].<ref name="LFYT1 240-1" /> | After being noticed by ]s who visited the Yeshiva in Slonim, he decided to drop out and followed cantor Moshe Bass to ], where he became a choirboy. It was there that he learned music theory and studied Hebrew and Russian.<ref name="Perlmutter 349" /> Upon losing his Soprano voice, he began to compose cantorial compositions, and was hired by Cantor Kahane in ] as a choir conductor, and after that under cantor Yoel Zelig in ].<ref name="LFYT1 240-1" /> | ||
| To avoid being his conscription into the military, his father sent for him and he travelled to the United States in 1895 via ],<ref name="LFYT1 240-1" /> or possibly in 1896.<ref name="natl rec" /> He worked for a time as a conductor in synagogues and in the Yiddish theatre in ].<ref name="Perlmutter 349" /> | To avoid being his conscription into the Russian military, his father sent for him and he travelled to the United States in 1895 via ],<ref name="LFYT1 240-1" /> or possibly in 1896.<ref name="natl rec" /> He worked for a time as a conductor in synagogues and in the Yiddish theatre in ].<ref name="Perlmutter 349" /> | ||
| ===Composing career=== | ===Composing career=== | ||
| ] | ] | ||
| It was around the turn of the century that Brody's composing career in the United States began to see some success. Although he had worked at ]'s Yiddish theatre at the ] in Philadelphia, that theatre merely staged New York plays and so his position was limited to conducting rather than composing.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Young |first1=Bernard |title=Mayn lebn in ṭeaṭer |date=1950 |publisher=Ikuf |location=New York |pages=114–5 |url=https://www.yiddishbookcenter.org/collections/yiddish-books/spb-nybc207961 |language=yi}}</ref> It was when he was hired by David Kessler from the Thalia Theatre in New York City that his career as a Jewish American composer began in earnest.<ref name="Perlmutter 350">{{cite book |last1=Perlmutter |first1=Sholem |title=Yidishe dramaṭurgn un ṭeaṭer ḳompoziṭors |date=1952 |publisher=Ikuf |location=New York |page=350 |url=https://www.yiddishbookcenter.org/collections/yiddish-books/spb-nybc209311 |language=yi}}</ref> His partnership with Kessler would last for several decades.<ref name="Perlmutter 351">{{cite book |last1=Perlmutter |first1=Sholem |title=Yidishe dramaṭurgn un ṭeaṭer ḳompoziṭors |date=1952 |publisher=Ikuf |location=New York |page=351 |url=https://www.yiddishbookcenter.org/collections/yiddish-books/spb-nybc209311 |language=yi}}</ref> Kessler, |
It was around the turn of the century that Brody's composing career in the United States began to see some success. Although he had worked at ]'s Yiddish theatre at the ] in Philadelphia, that theatre merely staged New York plays and so his position was limited to conducting rather than composing.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Young |first1=Bernard |title=Mayn lebn in ṭeaṭer |date=1950 |publisher=Ikuf |location=New York |pages=114–5 |url=https://www.yiddishbookcenter.org/collections/yiddish-books/spb-nybc207961 |language=yi}}</ref> It was when he was hired by David Kessler from the Thalia Theatre in ] that his career as a Jewish American composer began in earnest.<ref name="Perlmutter 350">{{cite book |last1=Perlmutter |first1=Sholem |title=Yidishe dramaṭurgn un ṭeaṭer ḳompoziṭors |date=1952 |publisher=Ikuf |location=New York |page=350 |url=https://www.yiddishbookcenter.org/collections/yiddish-books/spb-nybc209311 |language=yi}}</ref> His partnership with Kessler would last for several decades.<ref name="Perlmutter 351">{{cite book |last1=Perlmutter |first1=Sholem |title=Yidishe dramaṭurgn un ṭeaṭer ḳompoziṭors |date=1952 |publisher=Ikuf |location=New York |page=351 |url=https://www.yiddishbookcenter.org/collections/yiddish-books/spb-nybc209311 |language=yi}}</ref> | ||
| Kessler, ], and ] starred in Brody's debut play, which garnered significant success. During this time he developed an appreciation for ]'s career, with whom he would later widely collaborate.<ref name="Perlmutter 350" /> He continued to work Yiddish folk melodies and Jewish religious music into his theatre compositions.<ref name="Perlmutter 351" /> Among his other contemporaries in the New York Yiddish Theatre world were ], ], ], ], and many others.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Heskes |first1=Irene |title=Passport to Jewish music : its history, traditions, and culture |date=1994 |publisher=Greenwood Press |location=Westport, Conn. |isbn=0313280355 |page=199}}</ref> ] published arrangements of a number of Brody's compositions during this era as well.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Heskes |first1=Irene |title=Yiddish American popular songs, 1895 to 1950 : a catalog based on the Lawrence Marwick roster of copyright entries |date=1992 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |location=Washington, D.C. |isbn=0844407453 |page=xxxiii}}</ref> | |||
| In 1913 Brody became a naturalized citizen of the United States.<ref name="natl rec" /> | In 1913, Brody became a naturalized citizen of the United States.<ref name="natl rec" /> In the 1910s, Brody briefly instructed ] in composition, focusing on counterpoint, and directed a choir that Gershwin sang in.<ref>{{cite news |title=Brody, Gershwin's Teacher, Expires |url=https://www.nli.org.il/en/newspapers/bbh/1937/08/20/01/article/13 |work=B'nai B'rith Messenger |date=1937-08-20 |language=en}}</ref> | ||
| During the 1910s Brody taught ] composition for a time, focusing on counterpoint, and directed a choir that Gershwin sang in.<ref>{{cite news |title=Brody, Gershwin's Teacher, Expires |url=https://www.nli.org.il/en/newspapers/bbh/1937/08/20/01/article/13 |work=B'nai B'rith Messenger |date=1937-08-20 |language=en}}</ref> | |||
| After two decades of successful collaborations, Kessler died in 1920, after which Brody spent several shorter stints composing in other theatres, including the People's Theater, the Liberty Theater and the Hopkinson Theater.<ref name="Perlmutter 351" /> During his career he composed music for more than sixty plays.<ref name="LFYT1 240-1" /> | After two decades of successful collaborations, Kessler died in 1920, after which Brody spent several shorter stints composing in other theatres, including the People's Theater, the Liberty Theater and the Hopkinson Theater.<ref name="Perlmutter 351" /> During his career he composed music for more than sixty plays.<ref name="LFYT1 240-1" /> | ||
| While some sources indicate Brody's death in 1943, records confirm his passing on August 16, 1937.<ref name="NYT obit" /><ref>{{cite news |title=Joseph Brody. |url=https://archive.org/stream/variety127-1937-08#page/n205/mode/2up |work=Variety |date=1937-08-18}}</ref> | |||
| ===Family=== | ===Family=== | ||
| Joseph married his first wife Elizabeth (Leah) Vishniff, a fellow Russian Jewish immigrant, in May 1898.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lizzie Vishniff. New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1940 |url=https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:24ZZ-LQ4 |website=FamilySearch |access-date=10 December 2020}}</ref> In 1900 their first daughter ], then known as Sadie, was born. She would later become a well-known silent film actor in Great Britain.<ref>{{cite web |title=Estelle Brody |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0111030/?ref_=nmbio_trv_2 |website=IMDb |accessdate=14 November 2020}}</ref> Their second and third children, Phillip and Harris, were born in 1902 and 1905.<ref>{{cite web |title=Elizabeth Brody in the 1910 United States Federal Census |url=https://www.ancestrylibrary.ca/ |website=Ancestry Library |access-date=10 December 2020}}</ref> Their son ], who would later become a composer as well, was born in 1909.<ref>{{cite web |title=Murray L. Brody |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0111055/bio |website=IMDb |accessdate=14 November 2020}}</ref> Elizabeth died in May 1912 at age 36.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lizzie Brody |
Joseph married his first wife Elizabeth (Leah) Vishniff, a fellow Russian Jewish immigrant, in May 1898.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lizzie Vishniff. New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1940 |url=https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:24ZZ-LQ4 |website=FamilySearch |access-date=10 December 2020}}</ref> In 1900 their first daughter ], then known as Sadie, was born. She would later become a well-known silent film actor in Great Britain.<ref>{{cite web |title=Estelle Brody |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0111030/?ref_=nmbio_trv_2 |website=IMDb |accessdate=14 November 2020}}</ref> Their second and third children, Phillip and Harris, were born in 1902 and 1905.<ref>{{cite web |title=Elizabeth Brody in the 1910 United States Federal Census |url=https://www.ancestrylibrary.ca/ |website=Ancestry Library |access-date=10 December 2020}}</ref> Their son ], who would later become a composer as well, was born in 1909.<ref>{{cite web |title=Murray L. Brody |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0111055/bio |website=IMDb |accessdate=14 November 2020}}</ref> Elizabeth died in May 1912 at age 36.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lizzie Brody in the New York, New York, Index to Death Certificates, 1862-1948 |url=https://search.ancestrylibrary.ca/ |website=Ancestry Library |access-date=10 December 2020}}</ref> | ||
| Joseph married his second wife Bessie Fox, |
In December 1912, Joseph married his second wife, Bessie Fox, also a Russian Jewish immigrant.<ref name="1912 marr">{{cite web |title=New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1940 |url=https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:243G-H97 |website=FamilySearch |accessdate=14 November 2020}}</ref> Census records indicate that they resided with Sadie, Philip, Harry, and Moses, in addition to their own children Bernard and Jannette (born 1914 and 1917 respectively).<ref>{{cite web |title=New York State Census, 1915 |url=https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K9XY-SC5 |website=FamilySearch |accessdate=14 November 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=United States Census, 1920 |url=https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MJPW-3Q9 |website=FamilySearch |accessdate=14 November 2020}}</ref> | ||
| ==Selected plays Brody contributed music for== | ==Selected plays Brody contributed music for== | ||
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Latest revision as of 03:57, 18 November 2024
Russian-born American Jewish composer For other people named Joseph Brody, see Joseph Brody (disambiguation).
Joseph Brody (Yiddish: יוסף בּרױדי Yossef Broydi) (1876/1877 – 1937) was an American Jewish composer who wrote for the Yiddish theatre as well as liturgical Jewish works. He taught George Gershwin and was a friend of Yossele Rosenblatt. His daughter, Estelle Brody, was an actress.
Biography
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Early life
Brody was born on March 12, 1877, according to his gravestone, in Lyakhavichy, Minsk Governorate, in the Russian Empire, although the Lexicon of Yiddish Theatre gives the date as February 12, and in own his naturalization application he stated his birthday was January 22, 1876. His father, Harris Brody, was a tailor and sent Joseph to a Cheder for his early education.
His father emigrated to the United States in 1887, at which point Joseph entered a Yeshiva in Slonim, where he stayed for six years. During that time he developed an aptitude for music, and was greatly impressed by the military orchestras which regularly played in the park in Slonim during the summers.
After being noticed by cantors who visited the Yeshiva in Slonim, he decided to drop out and followed cantor Moshe Bass to Bialystok, where he became a choirboy. It was there that he learned music theory and studied Hebrew and Russian. Upon losing his Soprano voice, he began to compose cantorial compositions, and was hired by Cantor Kahane in Vilnius as a choir conductor, and after that under cantor Yoel Zelig in Pinsk.
To avoid being his conscription into the Russian military, his father sent for him and he travelled to the United States in 1895 via Hamburg, or possibly in 1896. He worked for a time as a conductor in synagogues and in the Yiddish theatre in Philadelphia.
Composing career
It was around the turn of the century that Brody's composing career in the United States began to see some success. Although he had worked at Morris Finkel's Yiddish theatre at the Arch Street Theatre in Philadelphia, that theatre merely staged New York plays and so his position was limited to conducting rather than composing. It was when he was hired by David Kessler from the Thalia Theatre in New York City that his career as a Jewish American composer began in earnest. His partnership with Kessler would last for several decades.
Kessler, Bertha Kalich, and Sigmund Mogulesko starred in Brody's debut play, which garnered significant success. During this time he developed an appreciation for Louis Friedsell's career, with whom he would later widely collaborate. He continued to work Yiddish folk melodies and Jewish religious music into his theatre compositions. Among his other contemporaries in the New York Yiddish Theatre world were Rubin Doctor, Arnold Perlmutter, Herman Wohl, Louis Gilrod, and many others. Joseph Rumshinsky published arrangements of a number of Brody's compositions during this era as well.
In 1913, Brody became a naturalized citizen of the United States. In the 1910s, Brody briefly instructed George Gershwin in composition, focusing on counterpoint, and directed a choir that Gershwin sang in.
After two decades of successful collaborations, Kessler died in 1920, after which Brody spent several shorter stints composing in other theatres, including the People's Theater, the Liberty Theater and the Hopkinson Theater. During his career he composed music for more than sixty plays.
While some sources indicate Brody's death in 1943, records confirm his passing on August 16, 1937.
Family
Joseph married his first wife Elizabeth (Leah) Vishniff, a fellow Russian Jewish immigrant, in May 1898. In 1900 their first daughter Estelle Brody, then known as Sadie, was born. She would later become a well-known silent film actor in Great Britain. Their second and third children, Phillip and Harris, were born in 1902 and 1905. Their son Murray L. Brody, who would later become a composer as well, was born in 1909. Elizabeth died in May 1912 at age 36.
In December 1912, Joseph married his second wife, Bessie Fox, also a Russian Jewish immigrant. Census records indicate that they resided with Sadie, Philip, Harry, and Moses, in addition to their own children Bernard and Jannette (born 1914 and 1917 respectively).
Selected plays Brody contributed music for
- Di sheyne Miriam by Jacob Gordin, music cowritten with Sigmund Mogulesko, 1900.
- Dos yoydel, oder di nakhtigal in Yerushalayim (The Nightingale in Jerusalem), operetta, written by Sigmund Feinman, lyrics by Brody, performed by Kalman Juvelier, 1903.
- Die Yuden in Brazilien (The Jews in Brazil) by Herman, 1903.
- Di grineh (The naive one) by Nahum Meir Schaikewitz, lyrics by Brody, performed by Bertha Kalich, 1903.
- Gott, mensh un toyfel, oder der Yiddisher Faust, performed by Bertha Kalich and David Kessler, 1903.
- Keynig fun di shnorers (King of the beggars), written by Israel Zangwill with lyrics by Solomon Smulewitz, 1905.
- Uptown and downtown, with lyrics by Solomon Smulewitz, 1906.
- Malke Shvo (Queen of Sheba), operetta, written by Moses Horowitz with lyrics by Anshel Schorr, 1907.
- Di sh'kheynim (The neighbors), with lyrics by Anshel Schorr, 1908.
- Di sheyne trim by Jacob Gordin
- Safo by Jacob Gordin
- Dos Yidishe Herz (The Jewish Heart), operetta, written by Joseph Lateiner, music cowritten with Sigmund Mogulesko with lyrics by Louis Gilrod, Solomon Smulewitz and Sigmund Mogulesko, 1908.
- Yom hakhupeh (The Wedding Day), operetta, music cowritten with Louis Friedsell, lyrics by Solomon Smulewitz and Louis Friedsell, 1910.
- Sholem bayis (The house of peace or "Home, sweet home"), written by Joseph Lateiner, music cowritten with Louis Friedsell with lyrics by Solomon Smulewitz, Joseph Tanzman and Isidore Lillian, 1910.
- Der falshe shrit (The false step), written by Joseph Lateiner, music cowritten with Louis Friedsell, lyrics by Henry M. Gastwirth, performed by Kalman Juvelier, 1915.
- Der Yiddish Koenig Lear (The Yiddish King Lear), written by Jacob Gordin, 1915.
- Der troyer fraynd (The True Friend) written by Joseph Lateiner with lyrics by Isidore Lillian, 1917.
- A khaver in leyben (A friend in life), operetta, written by Shloime Steinberg, with lyrics by B. Reznik, 1918.
- A mames neshumeh (A mother's soul), with lyrics by Joseph Tanzman
- Dos land fund trehren (The land of tears), operetta, with lyrics by David Meyerowitz, 1920.
- Yankeleh tsigayner (Jacob, the gypsy), musical, with lyrics by Joseph Tanzman, 1926.
- Der Yiddish Koenig Lear (The Yiddish King Lear), film adaptation of Gordin play, 1934.
References
- ^ "JOSEPH BRODY DEAD; A JEWISH COMPOSER; Choirmaster, Writer of Sacred Songs and Former Associate of Cantor Rosenblatt (Published 1937)". The New York Times. 1937-08-17.
- ^ Zylbercweig, Zalmen; Mestel, Jacob (1931). Leḳsiḳon fun Yidishn ṭeaṭer Vol. 1 (in Yiddish). New York: Elisheva. pp. 240–1.
- ^ "New York, County Naturalization Records, 1791-1980". FamilySearch. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
- ^ Perlmutter, Sholem (1952). Yidishe dramaṭurgn un ṭeaṭer ḳompoziṭors (in Yiddish). New York: Ikuf. p. 349.
- Young, Bernard (1950). Mayn lebn in ṭeaṭer (in Yiddish). New York: Ikuf. pp. 114–5.
- ^ Perlmutter, Sholem (1952). Yidishe dramaṭurgn un ṭeaṭer ḳompoziṭors (in Yiddish). New York: Ikuf. p. 350.
- ^ Perlmutter, Sholem (1952). Yidishe dramaṭurgn un ṭeaṭer ḳompoziṭors (in Yiddish). New York: Ikuf. p. 351.
- Heskes, Irene (1994). Passport to Jewish music : its history, traditions, and culture. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press. p. 199. ISBN 0313280355.
- Heskes, Irene (1992). Yiddish American popular songs, 1895 to 1950 : a catalog based on the Lawrence Marwick roster of copyright entries. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. p. xxxiii. ISBN 0844407453.
- "Brody, Gershwin's Teacher, Expires". B'nai B'rith Messenger. 1937-08-20.
- "Joseph Brody". Variety. 1937-08-18.
- "Lizzie Vishniff. New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1940". FamilySearch. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
- "Estelle Brody". IMDb. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
- "Elizabeth Brody in the 1910 United States Federal Census". Ancestry Library. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
- "Murray L. Brody". IMDb. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
- "Lizzie Brody in the New York, New York, Index to Death Certificates, 1862-1948". Ancestry Library. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
- "New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1940". FamilySearch. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
- "New York State Census, 1915". FamilySearch. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
- "United States Census, 1920". FamilySearch. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
External links
- Musical scores and sound recordings of Brody compositions at the Library of Congress
- Joseph Brody compositions, Discography of American Historical Recordings
- Joseph Brody scores, Brown University Yiddish sheetmusic collection
- Joseph Brody at Find a Grave
