One to One with the King of Klezmer Giora Feidman (Part One)

It is over fifty years since the clarinetist Giora Feidman started his legendary musical career. Born in Argentina in 1936, his parents were Bessarabian Jews. Feidman comes from a family of Klezmer musicians -- his father, grandfather and great-grandfather performed for weddings, bar mitzvahs, and holiday celebrations in the gated ghettos of central Europe. His first job at 18 was as clarinetist with the Teatro Colon Symphony and Opera Orchestra in Buenos Aires. Two years later he became the youngest clarinetist ever to play with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. He left the orchestra in the early 1970s to begin his solo career and subsequently has collaborated and recorded with many of the worlds great musicians, be it in classical, jazz, tango or Klezmer. Feidman has developed a unique musical language. Indeed an encounter with Giora Feidman is like no other and in this the first of two special Inspired Minds, he talks to Breandáin O’Shea about his cultural, religious and musical roots and how they have influenced his artistry.