Michael Winograd (born 1982) is an American klezmer clarinetist and composer. He has performed with such groups and artists as Vulfpeck, Tarras Band, Geoff Berner, Socalled, Adrienne Cooper, Daniel Kahn & the Painted Bird and Michael Winograd and the Honorable Mentshn.

Michael Winograd
Born1982
Genresklezmer
Instrument(s)clarinet
Years active2004–present
LabelsOU People
Websitemichaelwinograd.net

Biography edit

Winograd was born in 1982 in New Hyde Park, New York, on Long Island.[1][2][3] He grew up in Long Island; he cited his father, who had wide musical tastes, as an important influence.[3] At age 14 he went to KlezKamp at the invitation of a friend, which was his first major introduction to klezmer music; he became a regular attendee there and at KlezKanada.[3][4] He studied under Hankus Netsky at the New England Conservatory of Music and privately with clarinetists Andy Statman, Sid Beckerman and Matt Darriau.[3][5][6] While at the Conservatory he founded a band with fellow students called Khevre; he graduated in 2005.[7][8][5]

Winograd relocated to Brooklyn and rose to prominence as one of the leading musicians in the Klezmer world, initially with his Michael Winograd Trio, and soon collaborated with artists such as Socalled, Frank London, Budowitz, Daniel Kahn & the Painted Bird, the Klezmer Conservatory Band, Michael Alpert, and Alicia Svigals.[9][10][11] He was strongly influenced by popular klezmer clarinetists of the mid-twentieth century, including Naftule Brandwein and Dave Tarras.[2] He gradually moved from being a student at festivals such as KlezKamp, Yiddish Summer Weimar and KlezKanada, to teaching at them.[3][12] During this time he also began to compose original klezmer pieces.[5][1][13] Winograd has recorded with a number of music groups in the past two decades, and since 2008 has released more than 10 albums of his own klezmer compositions.[14]

In 2017 he was made Artistic Director of KlezKanada, succeeding Frank London.[4] He held the role for several seasons, stepping down in 2021.

Selected recordings edit

  • Bessarabian Hop (CD Baby, 2008)
  • Storm Game (Golden Horn Records, 2013)
  • Kosher Style (OU People, 2019)
  • Michael Winograd plays Brandwein (OU People, 2020)
  • Early Bird Special (OU People, 2022)

References edit

  1. ^ a b Gelfand, Alexander (1 Aug 2008). "Everything Old is New Again". Forward. New York, N.Y. p. 14.
  2. ^ a b Rubin, Joel (2020). New York klezmer in the early twentieth century: the music of Naftule Brandwein and Dave Tarras. Rochester (NY): University of Rochester Press. pp. 274–5. ISBN 9781580465984.
  3. ^ a b c d e Winograd, Michael (2011-08-24). "Michael Winograd's Oral History" (Interview). Interviewed by Pauline Katz. Saint Agathe des Monts, Quebec: Yiddish Book Center. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
  4. ^ a b Kutzik, Jordan (13 March 2018). "With a New Director, Klezkanada Looks to the Future". The Forward.
  5. ^ a b c Gunter, Ezra (3 Apr 2008). "Brooklyn clarinettist is a poster child for klezmer continuity". Canadian Jewish News. Don Mills, Ont. p. 59.
  6. ^ Young, Bob (10 Dec 2003). "Music; NEC student klezmerized by Old World music style". Boston Herald. Boston, Mass. p. 56.
  7. ^ Davidson, Susie (11 Mar 2004). "Khevre, cutting-edge klezmer". Jewish Advocate. Boston. p. 25.
  8. ^ "Michael Winograd and the Klezmer Orchestra". The Sun. Lowell, Mass. 25 July 2012.
  9. ^ "Michael Winograd Trio Performs at the Jewish Museum's Summernights Series Thursday, July 28". Washington, D.C. Targeted News Service. 13 July 2011.
  10. ^ Scherbenske, Amanda L. (2012). "From Folksmentshn to Creative Individuals: Klezmer Transmission in the Twenty-First Century". MUSICultures. 39 (2). Calgary: 103–XI.
  11. ^ Rubin, Joel (2015). "Klezmer music – a historical overview". In Walden, Joshua S. (ed.). The Cambridge companion to Jewish music. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. p. 135. ISBN 9781107023451.
  12. ^ Alexander, Phil (2021). Sounding Jewish in Berlin: klezmer music and the contemporary city. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 244–59. ISBN 9780190064457.
  13. ^ Marmer, Jake (25 January 2013). "A Klezmerizing Performer". Forward. New York, N.Y. pp. 11–13.
  14. ^ "Michael Winograd". Discogs. Retrieved 26 May 2023.

External links edit