Szpilman, Bajgelman, Barsht

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the post-war fate of the Szpilmans, Bajgelmans, and Barshts, which are an extended family of professional Jewish instrumentalists that originated from Ostrowiec Swietokrzyski in Poland. It explores how the Szpilmans, Bajgelmans, and Barshts played important roles as performers and composers in genres as diverse as instrumental klezmer, jazz, chamber, symphonic music, Yiddish theatre, vaudeville, and Brazilian dance music. It also mentions Władysław Szpilman as the most famous family member, whose memoirs formed the basis of Roman Polanski's Oscar-winning film, The Pianist. The chapter provides an ethnography of elderly living musicians that became part of salvage ethno-musicology, cultural history, and genealogy. It looks into activities of professional Jewish musicians from klezmer families, whose work and experience expanded in a number of directions, especially during the second half of the nineteenth century.