Martin Bookspan had life-long friendships with two great classical music geniuses, Leonard Bernstein and Aaron Copland.

As the voice of the PBS television series Live from Lincoln Center from 1976 to 2006, Martin Bookspan riveted audiences with his eloquently distinctive voice and extensive knowledge of classical music. The N.Y. Times (May 24, 2006) described Bookspan as  “One half erudite informer, the other half grandfatherly guide, [who kept audiences] tuned in during intermissions with easy-to-digest program notes and anecdotes.”     A generous supporter of the Judaica Sound Archives now the Recorded Sound Archives at Florida Atlantic University Libraries, Bookspan spoke before a sold-out audience at FAU Libraries’ 2013 Kultur Festival in March.     Today Martin Bookspan would have been turning 95, he passed away earlier this year in April at his home in Aventura, FL. In celebration of his life, we wanted to share these video clips taken during a lecture he gave in 2013 at FAU Libraries.

 

 My Friends: Leonard Bernstein & Aaron Copland Lecture

Presented by Martin Bookspan at FAU’s Wimberly Library on March 5, 2013

  (1) =&0=&     (2) =&1=&     (3)=&2=&     (4) =&3=&     (5) =&4=&       You can also listen to Martin Bookspan narrating Copland: A Lincoln Portrait on the Recorded Sound Archives website by =&5=&.     =&6=&   If you are a Researcher or Educator in need of full access to these recordings, please visit the Recorded Sound Archives website to apply for Research Station Access by =&7=&.           Read More About This…

What is a renaissance man? According to the dictionary a renaissance  man  is someone who is knowledgeable, educated, and proficient in a wide range of fields. Al Drucker was such a man.

A graduate of Adelphi University, he pursued a career in engineering. He eventually got a job with Grumman where he helped design the guidance system for the lunar lander. Read More About This…

The world of music has been enriched beyond measure by the efforts of Jewish performers, conductors and composers.  Today we highlight the talents of one of the great violinists of the 20th century, Mischa Elman.

Famed for his passionate style and beautiful tone, this world-famous virtuoso was the grandson of a violin-playing klezmer performer.  By the age of six he was already understood to be a prodigy and when he was 11 he was admitted to the St. Petersburg Conservatory for further training. Read More About This…

“The Jazz Singer,” released in 1927, was the first commercially successful “talking motion picture.” One of the most iconic moments in movie history occurs in this film when Al Jolson on stage, turns to his enthusiastic audience and says, “Wait a minute! You ain’t heard nothin’ yet!”  This promise of even more exciting entertainment to come is fulfilled as he sings “Toot-toot-tootsie” using moves that could have made Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson jealous. The effect is electrifying.

Known as “The World’s Greatest Entertainer” during his lifetime, Al Jolson’s life story (on which the movie was based) tells of a young Jewish boy who is driven to become a Pop singer despite the fact that his Orthodox father wants him to be a Cantor. Read More About This…

Who said Yiddish Musical Comedy is dead?

Now you can revisit the glory days of the Lower East Side and hear the songs as they were actually sung.

The recordings in this special JSA collection were produced on 78 rpm recordings between 1901 and 1922, at the height of Yiddish Theater’s popularity. Read More About This…