Zavel kwartin biography for kids

KWARTIN, ZAVEL (Zevulun ; 1874–1953), ḥazzan and composer. Born in Novoarkhangelsk, Ukraine, Kwartin worked in his father's business while studying music and singing in a synagogue choir. He first officiated as a ḥazzan in 1896, on the Sabbath preceding his marriage in Yelizavetgrad. After spending some time in Odessa and studying the ḥazzanut of *Sulzer in Vienna, he was ḥazzan at synagogues in Vienna and St. Petersburg, and for ten years at the Tabak Temple in Budapest. In 1919 Kwartin emigrated to the United States and was appointed ḥazzan at Temple Emanuel of Borough Park, Brooklyn. There he became known for the richness and fervor of his lyric baritone, and he made many recordings. In 1926 he moved to Ereẓ Israel, where he conducted services and gave concerts, acquiring property near Safed. Eleven years later, in 1937, Kwartin returned to the U.S. and accepted a position as cantor in Newark, New Jersey. His compositions, recorded as traditional improvisations, were transcribed and published as Zemirot Zevulun (2 vols., 1928). A supplementary volume, Tefillot Zevulun (1938), appeared with an autobiographical introduction. He also published his memoirs, Mayn Lebn (1952).

bibliography:

Cantors' Association of the U.S. and Canada, Di Geshikhte fun Khazones (1924), 173–4; E. Zaludkovski, Kultur Treger fun di Yidishe Liturgie (1930), 331; A. Holde, Jews in Music (1959), index; Sendrey, Music, index.

[Joshua Leib Ne'eman]

Most famous Chazanim have tenor voices. One who was endowed with a glorious high baritone, was the great Zavel Kwartin.

Kwartin was born on 25th March 1874 in Chonorod, Elisabetgrad, Russia, to a wealthy Chassidic textile merchant. From a very early age he exhibited a beautiful voice and his father took him to the famous Chazan, Yerucham Hakatan (also known as Yerucham Blindman), to hear his son sing and get a professional opinion of his abilities.

According to Zavel’s own account, the ageing Chazan was deeply impressed by him and wanted to take the boy as his pupil. His father however was not too keen on the idea though, believing that a career in textiles might be rather more secure than one in Chazanut.

On his marriage he went to Shul with his in-laws in Yelisvatgrad and was invited to say the Haftara. The congregation was very impressed with his rendering of the Berachot and he was prevailed upon to conduct Musaf. It was on this occasion that the seeds of his golden career were sown.

Kwartin took music and singing lessons with the finest teachers of his time and on June 1st 1896 he gave his first public concert. He states that he was a great success. The following year he gave a concert in Lodz for which he was paid more than 400 roubles and he continued to travel in Europe, concertise and conduct services to great acclaim.

In 1903 he was appointed Obercantor of the Queen Elizabet Temple of Vienna where his salary was 2,500 krone per annum, an extraordinary salary by any standards.

In 1914 Kwartin was invited to come to America for a fee of $30,000 for a series of 30 concerts. Because of the war this was postponed and it wasn’t until April 1920 that he eventually got there.

His first concert, which was not a success, was at the Metropolitan Opera House. Fortunately though he redeemed himself at the ‘Hippodrome’ and went on from there to tour America, to great acclaim.

He decided to remain in

American singer

Musical artist

Zevulun Kwartin (Hebrew: זבולון קוורטין; March 25, 1874 – September 22, 1952), known as Zavel or Savel, was a Jewish chazzan (cantor) and composer, a contemporary of Mordechai Hershman. Part of his family fled to Brazil during World War II. They have descendants in the northeastern region of Brazil, more precisely in the state of Ceará.

Kwartin gave his first concert in 1896 in the synagogue of his hometown of Novoarkhanhelsk, Kherson Governorate, Russian Empire (now Ukraine). In 1897, he moved to Vienna for further studies. He was in contact with Joseph Sulzer, son of the former cantor of the biggest synagogue, Vienna's Stadttempel, Salomon Sulzer. In 1903 he was offered the role of chazzan at the newly opened Neudeggergasse Synagogue in Vienna's district Josefstadt. In 1906 he signed his first contracts with record labels like Deutsche Grammophon and soon sold more than half a million records. He gave concerts in the Russian Rayon, Vilna and Białystok. In 1910 he moved to Budapest to become chazzan at the Dohány Street Synagogue. In 1914 he was offered a tournee through the USA, but he was hindered by the outbreak of World War I.

From 1926 to 1937, he resided in Mandatory Palestine.

Cantor Kwartin was endowed with a beautiful, rich expressive tenor voice with an astounding range and the agility to sing rapid coloratura. His superb voice and elaborate compositions garnered him international renown as both a chazzan and composer. A Musical Courier newspaper article dated May 6, 1920 lists a concert he gave with his daughter, Anna Kwartin, coloratura soprano, at the Metropolitan Opera House

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