Joseph Gusikov, from Lewald's 'Europa' (1836)

Michal Josef Gusikov (also spelt Guzikow or Gusikow) (2 September 1806, Shklov - 21 October 1837, Aachen) was a klezmer who gave the first performances of klezmer music to West European concert audiences on the 'wood and straw instrument' which he invented. September 2 is the 245th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (246th in leap years). ... 1806 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Categories: Belarus-related stubs | Towns in Belarus ... October 21 is the 294th day of the year (295th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 71 days remaining. ... 1837 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Aachen Cathedral Printen Figurine at Aachen Cathedral Top Floor of Aachen Cathedral Tree-lined boulevard in Aachen Typical Aachen street with early 20th century Gründerzeit houses Aachen (French Aix-la-Chapelle, Dutch Aken, Latin Aquisgranum, Ripuarian Oche) is a spa city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, on the border... Klezmer (from Yiddish כלזמיר, etymologically from Hebrew kli zemer כלי זמר, vessel of song) is a musical tradition which parallels Hasidic and Ashkenazic Judaism. ...

Gusikov and his instrument

Gusikov was born to a family of klezmer musicians in Shklov, (now in Belarus). Originally brought up to play the flute, like his father, a weakness of the lungs forced him to seek a different specialisation. In 1831 he constructed what he called a wood and straw instrument, essentially a xylophone laid out like a cimbalom on a soundboard made from rolls of straw which allowed a loud resonance – perhaps sounding a little like a marimbaphone. On this instrument he developed an extraordinary virtuosity, and gave concerts in Moscow, Kiev and Odessa. Categories: Belarus-related stubs | Towns in Belarus ... The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. ... Xylophone in Bali 1937 The xylophone (from the Greek meaning wooden sound) is a musical instrument in the percussion family which probably originated in Indonesia (Nettl 1956, p. ... It is also possible that you want to know about the Cymbal instrument. ... The sounding board is the largest part of a string musical instruments body. ... Straw is the dry stalk of a cereal plant, after the nutrient grain or seed has been removed. ... The marimbaphone is a tuned percussion instrument. ... Moscow (Russian: Москва́, Moskva, IPA: (help· info)) is the capital of Russia and the countrys principal political, economic, financial, educational and transportation center, located on the river Moskva. ... A monument to St. ... The geographical situation of Odessa city and province within Ukraine Odessa (Ukrainian: Одеса, Odesa; Russian: ) is a city in southwestern Ukraine, a major port on the Black Sea, and the administrative centre of the countrys Odessa Oblast. ...

He was heard in a concert in Odessa by the Polish violinist Karol Lipinski, and with the support of Lipinski and the poet Lamartine undertook a concert tour of Western Europe, from 1835 onwards. The concerts, at which Gusikov appeared in traditional Jewish gabardine, and was generally accompanied by his brothers on bass and violins, were an extraordinary success; in Paris he was so popular that a coiffure was named after him, imitating his payot. Gusikow played improvisations both on traditional Jewish and klezmer melodies and also on the popular opera tunes of the time. Other locations where he played included Frankfurt and Vienna. The violin is a bowed stringed musical instrument that has four strings tuned a perfect fifth apart, the lowest being the G just below middle C. It is the smallest and highest-tuned member of the violin family of string instruments, which also includes the viola and cello. ... Karol Lipiński (October 30, 1790 in Lublin, Poland – December 16, 1861 in Lwow, today Ukraine) was a Polish virtuoso violinist and composer. ... Alphonse de Lamartine (October 21, 1790 - February 28, 1869) was a French writer, poet and politician. ... Gabardine is a tough, tightly woven fabric used to make suits, overcoats and trousers, or a garment made from the material. ... The Eiffel Tower has become a symbol of Paris throughout the world. ... Street haircut in Harbin, China For humans, a haircut, hairstyle or hairdo normally describes cutting or styling head hair, rather than other body hair such as facial, underarm hair, or pubic. ... Payot Payot (peyoth or peiyot or peiot is the Hebrew word פאות) variously translated as corners, sides, or edges (of the head and face) denoting sidelocks, and also the male sideburns and beard according to the teachings of the Book of Leviticus as understood and practiced within Orthodox Judaism. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... River Main and the skyline (help· info) is the largest city in the German Federal State of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany. ... Vienna (German: Wien [viːn]; Slovenian: Dunaj, Hungarian: Bécs, Czech: Vídeň, Slovak: Viedeň, Romany Vidnya; Croatian and Serbian: Beč) is the capital of Austria, and also one of the nine States of Austria. ...

Opinions of his music

Gusikow's 'wood and straw instrument', from Lewald's 'Europa'

Many professional Jewish musicians were highly impressed by Gusikov. Ferdinand Hiller wrote him a recommendation to Meyerbeer. Felix Mendelssohn wrote to his family in 1836: Image File history File linksMetadata Xyinstrument. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Xyinstrument. ... Ferdinand Hiller (October 24, 1811 - May 12, 1885), German composer, was born at Frankfort-on-Main. ... Giacomo Meyerbeer Giacomo Meyerbeer (September 5, 1791 - May 2, 1864) was a noted opera composer. ... Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy at the age of thirty Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, known generally as Felix Mendelssohn (February 3, 1809 – November 4, 1847) was a German composer of the early Romantic period. ...

'I am curious to know whether Gusikow pleased you as much as he did me. He is quite a phenomenon; a famous fellow, inferior to no virtuoso in the world, both in execution and feeling; he therefore delights me more with his instrument of wood and straw than many with their pianofortes.'

Liszt on the other hand was more dismissive, calling Gusikov a 'Paganini of the Boulevards' whose 'gift, one might say his genius' would have been better applied to 'inventing an agricultural instrument' whereas his 'talent, being misguided, has produced nothing but musical inanities.' Franz Liszt (October 22, 1811 – July 31, 1886) was a virtuoso pianist and composer. ... Niccolò Paganini Niccolò Paganini, (Genoa, October 27, 1782 - Nice, May 27, 1840) was a violinist and composer. ... A typical boulevard in Valencia, California. ...

Gusikov attracted the admiration and friendship of the musicologist Fétis, who wrote a long article about him, based on their discussions in Brussels, in his musical dictionary. Bold textItalic textBold text // Headline text Emblem of the Brussels-Capital Region Flag of The City of Brussels Brussels (French: Bruxelles, Dutch: Brussel, German: Brüssel) is the capital of Belgium, the French community of Belgium, the Flemish community and of the European Union. ...

Death

Exhausted by his tour, Gusikov died of tuberculosis in Aachen, his last days embittered by the theft of his precious instrument from his lodgings. Tuberculosis (commonly shortened to TB) is an infection caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which most commonly effects the lungs (pulmonary TB) but can also effect the central nervous system (meningitis), lymphatic system, circulatory system (Miliary tuberculosis), genitourinary system, bones and joints. ...

Only one piece of music written by Gusikov has survived, a setting of the Jewish hymn Shir Hama’alot (Psalm 126). Psalms (Tehilim תהילים, in Hebrew) is a book of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, and of the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. ...

Sources

• The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians ed. Stanley Sadie (1980), ‘Guzikow, Michal Jozef’
• Francois-Joseph Fétis, ‘Biographie universelle des musiciens’ (in French), 2nd edition, Paris, 1870.
• Franz Liszt, ‘Lettres d’un bachelier ès musique’, tr. Charles Suttori, London, 1989
• Felix Mendelssohn, ‘Letters of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy’, tr. Lady Wallace, London, 1883
• Joachim Stuschewsky, ‘Haklezmorim, toledotayhem, orekh hahayim. v’yistrotayhem’ (in Hebrew), Jerusalem, 1959.