Klezmer and Classical Reinterpreted by City & Eastern Symphonia

In it's heyday of the late '80s to mid-'90s, City & Eastern Yass Bend was the greatest Klezmer Band in the Netherlands, famous for its weekly concerts in "Het Syndicaat" in The Hague. The group was founded by Marcel Cuypers and Wilma Paalman. It morphed into other groups over the years based on the instruments and performers. All specialized in unorthodox interpretations of classical and folk music. Through their idiosyncratic versions of forgotten classics, City & Eastern Symphonia breathed new life into centuries old music.

The City & Eastern Symphonia album Time Release is a chronological overview of music beginning in antiquity at the time of Confucius and Pythagoras, working through the Middle Ages and classicism, to come to the brink of the twentieth century. It features compositions by Mozart, Mussorgsky, Brahms, Tchaikovsky and Satie, among others, focusing on Asian-style pieces, like "Danse Arab" and "Turkish Marches". They also sing Roma and Swedish folk songs.

Performing are Marcel Cuypers, clarinet, piano, vocals; Astrid Rubenowitz, violin; Wilma Paalman, cello, zang; Alain Labrie and Erik Schurman - guitar; Jan den Boer and Peter Wassenaar, contrabass; Rupert Rubenowitz - percussion; and Marcel van der Schot, accordion.

Cupers shares many other recordings on his site, as well. Time Release has long been a favorite at Oddio Headquarters.

Marcel Cuypers | Wilma Paalman

Music License: © All Rights Reserved
Image: Candid photo of some members of City & Eastern Symphonia from website of Wilma Paalman
Artist Location: The Netherlands