Sounding Jewish in Berlin

Abstract This chapter devotes specific consideration to the complex relationship between contemporary Jewish identity and klezmer music in the city—as seen in two case studies that both directly address Berlin Jewish history through music. The first of these is a project that unearths the rich recorded legacy of two prewar Berlin Jewish record labels (Semer and Lukraphon) and re-presents their music for a modern concert audience. Despite the pre-Holocaust provenance of this music, a post-Holocaust framing is unavoidable, making these materials both a way of hearing the past and also a commentary on the present (including changing German-Jewish relations). In the process, Semer Ensemble raises important questions about the relationship of bounded historical materials to contemporary performance practice. The chapter also critiques the project, arguing that while it powerfully illustrates the wealth of talent and creativity in Berlin’s Jewish music scene, it also bends certain historical narratives to better suit its own artistic aims. Secondly, the chapter discusses the life story and work of singer Tania Alon, one of the few Berlin-born Jews on today’s klezmer and Yiddish scene. Tania’s deeply felt testimony as the granddaughter of Holocaust victims stands as a powerful contrast to the easy fluidity of the contemporary milieu and reminds us of the very personal resonances that this music also contains. In particular, Tania’s singing at Stolpersteine ceremonies is explored, through her own words, as a way of sounding the silenced voices of her family and simultaneously an aural part of the urban fabric.