Recently I picked up the clarinet again and have been practicing various Klezmer songs, including one of my wife's favorites: Papirosen. A sad song about a boy selling cigarettes on the streets during WW II in order to stave off hunger and avoid the fate of his sister who died from exposure.
I found this brilliant rendition on youtube by a duo known as the Klezmer Gourmets.
I was shocked and saddened to read in the comments that the violinist Michael Kahan was stabbed earlier this year by a 'discharged schizophrenic' in Macnhester.
This song will now be twice as sorrowful when I play it. Rest in peace Michael Kahan.
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Posted on: Sunday, November 9th 2008
