Joseph Cherniavsky

Joseph Cherniavsky (1889-1959)

The cellist, band lieder and composer Joseph Cherniavsky, born 29 March, 1889 in Lubny in  the Poltava district of Ukraine, is a perfect example of  a musician who grew up and was trained as a klezmer, left the klezmer milieu to further his training as a classical musician, returning as a adult to klezmer and Yiddish music not because of a necessity, but out of a love for the genre. 

Cherniavsky had yikhes (a good family pedigree) : his grandfather was reputed to have been none other than the real-life prototype for Sholom Aleichem Stempenyu. 

At the age of ten, Cherniavsky studied in Odessa with his uncle, violinist Alexander Fiedelman, most famous for having taught Mischa Elman. He then attended the  St.Petersburg Conservatory (graduated with a Gold Medal), where he studied cello and conducting as a student of Alexander Glazounov and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Afterwards  Cherniavsky continuing his studies in Leipzig with Professor Julius Klengel, the teacher of Emmanuel Feuermann and Gregor Piatigorsky.

After immigrating to New York, Cherniavsky began an association with Maurice Schwartz and his Yiddish Art Theatre. The first team-work's production was Cherniavsky play Moishe der fiddler produced by Schwartz on 21 April, 1920. The next theatrical season Yiddish Art Theatre had open with the Shloyme An-ski's popular play The Dibbuk, first performed on 1 September, 1921. The musical score was written by Joseph Cherniavsky. His next work, in collaboration with Julius Adler, was a musical score for Moishe Nadir's Der Letster Yid performed on 2 November, 1921.

In 1922 Cherniavsky had established Hassidiche (later Yiddishe) American Jazz Band. The band toured American and Jewish vaudeville circuit extensively. Although billed as a "Jazz-Band", there is nothing jazzy about either the music or the instrumentation of Cherniavsky's Yiddishe Jazz Band, which does not differ from the typical larger klezmer or Yiddish Theatre ensembles of the early 1920s. But there also was and a little difference : the staff. With Joseph Cherniavsky on cello and his wife Dora (Lara) Cherniavsky on piano, Naftule Brandwein (lately replaced by young Dave Tarras), Shloimke (Sam) Beckerman on clarinets with addition of Philip Greenberg it was maybe most starry klezmer ensemble in history. 

In 1923-1924 theatrical season Joseph Cherniavsky wrote music for Boris Thomashefsky and his Broadway Theater operettas Di dray kleyne bizneslayt and Tanz, gezang un wein.

In the late of 1920s Cherniavsky moved to Hollywood, where he wrote the musical score for a Show Boat movie in 1929. He toured the USA as a conductor in theatres and in concerts. He also created and conducted the NBC Radio program "Musical Camera" in New York.

Joseph Cherniavsky died at 3 November 1959 in New York.

с дополнениями Joel Rubin

Chasene Nigunim (Joseph Cherniavsky)

Joseph Cherniavsky's Yiddish American Jazz-Band

78RPM

Victor 78423-A

1925

Chasidim un Misnagdim (Joel Engel - Joseph Cherniavsky)

Joseph Cherniavsky's Yiddish American Jazz-Band

78RPM

Victor 78453-B

1925

Cheinevdige Chinke (Joseph Cherniavsky)

Peisachke Burstein & Ella Troy

78RPM

Columbia 8041-F

1923

Dem Tzadik's Lied (Joseph Cherniavsky)

Maurice Schwartz and Yiddish Art Theatre's Chorus

78RPM

Columbia E7606

1922

Der Batlonim Tantz (Joseph Cherniavsky)

Maurice Schwartz and Yiddish Art Theatre's Chorus

Der Dibbuk Forshpiel (Joseph Cherniavsky)

Philip Greenberg (Clarinet Solo)

78RPM

Columbia E7606

1922

Der Dibbuk (Joseph Cherniavsky)

Joseph Cherniavsky's Yiddish American Jazz-Band

78RPM

Pathe 03685

1924

Der Yiddisher March (Joseph Cherniavsky)

Joseph Cherniavsky's Yiddish American Jazz-Band

78RPM

Victor 78422-A

1925

Die Dibbuk Chassene (Joseph Cherniavsky)

Joseph Cherniavsky (Cello solo)

78RPM

Columbia E7607

1922

Kalle Bezetzns (Joseph Cherniavsky)

Leyb Pulver's GOSET Orchestra

78RPM

Gramplasttrest 9931

1939

Kalle Bezetzns un a Freilachs (Joseph Cherniavsky)

Joseph Cherniavsky's Yiddish American Jazz-Band

78RPM

Victor 78422-B

1925

Noch Havdolo Beim Rebin (Joseph Cherniavsky)

Joseph Cherniavsky's Yiddish American Jazz-Band

78RPM

Victor 78423-B

1925

Oy, vai, Titina (Leo Daniderf)

Joseph Cherniavsky's Yiddish American Jazz-Band

78RPM

Victor 78453-A

1925

Passach-shin-sha (Joseph Cherniavsky)

Maurice Schwartz & Alexander Olshanetsky orchestra

Last update 22-07-2026