Klezmer Fantazye written in 2014 (revised is 2020) draws on the conventional sounds of traditional Klezmer music while at times pushes the sound world beyond what one traditionally associates with a Klezmer band. Klezmer music grew out of the cantorial style of singing and has a long history of popularity, decline, and revival. Although most closely associated with Jewish musical life in Eastern Europe and mainly heard at weddings up to the end of the nineteenth century,
The work begins with a bold introduction, which sounds improvisatory in nature. The main section of the piece begins with the first violin playing a theme that sounds detectably Klezmer-like, and the second violin taking it up soon thereafter. After a short pause, the music begins gradually to speed up with a tune borrowed from classical Klezmer repertoire and known as the Odessa Bulgar. This leads to a virtuoso cadenza for the violins, where the improvisatory nature of the music returns with a vengeance finishing which the Odessa Bulgar.
