Jewzak and Heavy Shtetl: Constructing Ethnic Identity and Asserting Authenticity in the New-Klezmer Movement

Klezmer, the instrumental dance music of European and American Yiddish culture, began to be revived in the U.S. during the 1970s. It has grown in popularity through the subsequent decades; its revivalists have continued to invent klezmer history and klezmer authenticity. This article explores the question of how klezmer players and critics use concepts of authenticity and how these notions relate to their understandings of klezmer tradition and Jewish identity. While scholars like Richard Taruskin have debunked the usefulness of the concept of authenticity as a measure by which to determine cultural value, authenticity functions among klezmer players and critics as a flag for points of emotional and ideological investment. Such flags cluster around notions of Jewish identity and the way klezmer performers redefine, contest, and even commodify Jewishness.

Jewzak and Heavy Shtetl: Constructing Ethnic Identity and Asserting Authenticity in the New-Klezmer Movement Journal Articles