Israel J. Hochman

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I. J. Hochman and Orchestra - Die Cale (Polonaise) record label

Israel J. Hochman (

Yiddish: ישראל האָכמאַן, 1872–1940) was a Russian-born Jewish American violinist, klezmer bandleader, music arranger, and recording artist in early Twentieth Century New York City. He recorded prolifically for Edison Records, Emerson Records, Okeh Records, and Brunswick Records during the period of 1916 to 1924. He was one of a handful of bandleaders such as Abe Schwartz, Joseph Frankel and Max Leibowitz
whose recordings are considered to make up the golden age of American klezmer.

Biography

Early life

Hochman was born in

Podolian Governorate, Russia on 3 April 1872.[1][2] Little is known about his family background, musical education or whether he was from a Klezmer family. He emigrated to the United States around 1906 with his wife Victoria "Witte" (née Goldstein) and three children, sailing from Rotterdam to New York City.[2][3][4][5] His parents were named Jacob Hochman and Maria (Chaja or Miriam Chaie) Bechter; according to the 1910 US census at least his mother emigrated with the family as well.[4][6]

Music career

What he did for the first decade after his emigration to the United States is also not clear, but his recording career began in 1916 at

Joseph Feldman, Clara Gold, and Simon Paskal.[10]

It was during the period of 1918 to 1922 that he recorded most of his

Abe Elenkrieg.[13] Klezmer researcher Hankus Netsky notes the orchestration style used by Hochman in his klezmer recordings was shared with Abe Schwartz, Abraham Elenkrieg, and Harry Kandel, with a large brassy sound.[14]

With the passing of the Immigration Act of 1924 which greatly restricted Jewish immigration from Europe, and then the onset of the Great Depression by 1930, the market for Yiddish and klezmer recordings in the United States saw a steep decline, which essentially ended the recording career of many of the popular bandleaders of the 1910s and 1920s.[15] Hochman's 78rpm recording career does not seem to have continued past 1924, a year in which he made a round of Polish dance recordings for Edison Records.[16]

By 1930 he listed his occupation in the US census as a private piano teacher in The Bronx.[5] He also continued to perform with a string ensemble which played a variety of light classical and Jewish pieces.[17] His main musical output in the 1930s seems to have been composing, arranging and direction in a series of films by a little-known director named George Roland. These were Joseph in the Land of Egypt (1932), The Wandering Jew (1933), and A Daughter of Her People (1933).[18]

Hochman died on December 2, 1940, in Manhattan.[19][20] He was killed in a traffic collision while crossing the street with Abraham Ratfogl, another violinist who survived.[21][22] He was buried at the Beth David Cemetery in Elmont, New York.[19]

Legacy

During the

Klezmer revival of the late 1970s and onwards, there was renewed interest in Hochman's recorded music. Tracks of his appeared on reissue compilations such as Klezmer Music 1910-1942 (Folkways Records, 1981), Klezmer Pioneers: European and American Recordings, 1905-1952 (Rounder Records, 1993), and Klezmer Music - Early Yiddish Instrumental Music - The First Recordings: 1908-1927 (Arhoolie Records
, 1997). In 1993 Global Village Music released a reissue CD specifically of his music called I. J. Hochman: Fun der Khupe, Master of Klezmer Music.

Family

According to the 1920 US Census, Israel and Victoria Hochman had three children who were born in Europe (May, Jack, and Rose), as well as four more who were born in the United States (Max, Sadie, Joseph, and Milton).[3] Victoria died on October 4, 1932, at age 55.[23] In 1936 Israel remarried to his second wife, Sadie Zwirn.[4]

References

  1. ^ "Israel Hochman in U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918". Ancestry.com. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Israel Hochman in New York, U.S., State and Federal Naturalization Records, 1794-1943". Ancestry.com. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  3. ^ a b ""Isriel Hockman" United States Census, 1920". FamilySearch. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  4. ^ a b c "Israel Hochman. New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1940". FamilySearch. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  5. ^ a b ""Israel Hochman" United States Census, 1930". FamilySearch. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  6. ^ "Israel Hochman in the 1910 United States Federal Census". AncestryLibrary. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  7. ^ "Victor 67748 (Black label (ethnic) 10-in. double-faced)". Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  8. ^ "I. J. Hochman". Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  9. ^
    ISBN 9780252017216
    .
  10. ^
    ISBN 9780825673245
    .
  11. ISBN 9780252017216
    .
  12. ^ "Hochman, I. J." Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  13. ISBN 9780190244514
    .
  14. ISBN 0520227174
    .
  15. ISBN 9781787448315
    .
  16. ^ "Polska Orkiestra Hochmana". Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  17. ^ "Hochman String Ensemble". Musical Courier. New York. 7 November 1931. p. 14.
  18. ^ "I.J. Hochman". IMDb. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  19. ^ a b "Israel Hochman. New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949". FamilySearch. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  20. ^ "New York, New York, U.S., Extracted Death Index, 1862-1948". Ancestry.com. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  21. ^ "MUSICIAN IS KILLED CROSSING STREET". New York Sun. New York. 2 December 1940. p. 9.
  22. ^ "Motorist Held in Pedestrian Death". New York Daily News. New York. 3 Dec 1940. p. 16.
  23. ^ "Victoria Hochman. New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949". FamilySearch. Retrieved 27 November 2020.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Israel_J._Hochman&oldid=1215962586"