Max Leibowitz
Max Leibowitz (
primarily in the 1910s and 1920s.Biography
Early life
Leibowitz was born in Iași, Romania in June 1883 or 1884.[1] Little is known about his family background, whether he was from a klezmer family, or what his musical training was. In September 1905 he emigrated to the United States along with his wife Sarah.[2][3][4] He had 3 children: Isadore (born c.1908), Molly (c.1911) and Albert (born 1920).[2]
Music career
It isn't clear what Leibowitz did for the first decade he was in the United States, although in the
He was a contemporary of other Romanian-born klezmer bandleaders and recording artists in the New York City area that included Abe Schwartz, Joseph Moskowitz, Abe Katzman, and Milu Lemisch (in Philadelphia).[10] He is listed as composer of some Yiddish songs recorded in the early twentieth century, such as Der yold is mich mekone ("The fool envies me.")[11] and Es iz shoin farfallen.[12] Irene Heskes, compiler of Yiddish popular music listings, lists Leibowitz as part of a large cohort of "Jewish bandsmen" such as Naftule Brandwein, Dave Tarras, Harry Kandel and others who "fashioned unique qualities for the Jewish dance tunes in America" during that era.[13] There was often tough competition between these bandleaders; in 1923 Leibowitz sued Naftule Brandwein for allegedly plagiarizing a klezmer tune he had already copyrighted.[14] The case ended up being dismissed because Leibowitz had still been a Romanian citizen when he had copyrighted the work, which gave him less protection than an American citizen would have had.[15][16] After that lawsuit, the two men must have reconciled, because they continued to work together. In 1926 Leibowitz and his son Isidore opened a short-lived Romanian restaurant in Newark, New Jersey, and soon recruited Brandwein as a regular guest.[17]
Leibowitz died in the
Selected recordings
- Yiddischer tanz/Yiddisch chusidel (1916)[20]
- Tanzt, Tanzt, Yiddelach/Beim Rebeh's Sideh (1917)[21]
- Orientalishe Melodien (1919)[22]
- Der Galitzianer Chosid/Yiddisher Bulgar (1920)[23]
- Russian Sher Quadril/Mazel Tov (1920)[24]
External links
- Handwritten scores of klezmer music by Max Leibowitz in the Library of Congress Yiddish American Popular Sheet Music collection
References
- ^ "Max Leibowitz. Migration • New York, County Naturalization Records, 1791-1980". FamilySearch. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
- ^ a b "Max Leibowitz, United States Census, 1920". FamilySearch. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
- ^ "Max Leibowitz, Declaration of Intention". Ancestry Library. Retrieved 2020-07-10.
- ^ U.S. Government Printing Office (1920). "Polish Oberek No.1". Catalog of Copyright Entries: Musical Compositions. Part 3, Volume 15, Issue 1: 917.
- ^ "Max Lebowitz Census • United States Census, 1910". FamilySearch. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
- ^ ISBN 9780252017216.
- ISBN 9780190244514.
- ISBN 9780810839434.
- ^ Wollock, Jeffrey (2007). "Historic Records as Historical Records: Hersh Gross and His Boiberiker Kapelye (1927-1932)". ARSC Journal. 38 (1): 60.
- ISBN 9780190244514.
- ^ "Der yold is mich mekone". Library of Congress.
- ^ "Es iz shoin farfallen and Simches Torah chusid'l". Library of Congress.
- ISBN 0844407453.
- ^ "MUSIC MEN". Variety. 1923-08-09.
- .
- ^ "COMMON LAW IS PROTECTION SAYS JUDGE". New York Clipper. 1923-10-12.
- ^ "Advertisement". Forverts. 1926-11-12.
- ^ "Max Liebowitz New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949". FamilySearch. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
- ^ "Max Liebowitz in the New York, New York, U.S., Index to Death Certificates, 1862-1948". Ancestry Library. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
- ^ "אידישער טאַנץ". search.library.wisc.edu.
- ^ "Tanzt, Tanzt, Yiddelach/Beim Rebeh's Sideh". rsa.fau.edu.
- ^ "Orientalishe Melodien". rsa.fau.edu.
- ^ "Yiddisher Bulgar/Der Galitzianer Chosid". rsa.fau.edu.
- ^ "Russian Sher Quadril/Mazel Tov". rsa.fau.edu.