Tuesday, September 10, 2013

David Friedmann Exhibition -- Mark Your Calendars!

Rabbis, David Friedman, ca. 1970. Credit: see below.
We have already noted in this blog the story of the lost chess art of David Friedmann, as well as using (with permission of his daughter, Miriam Friedman Morris) one of his portraits -- that of Akiba Rubinstein.

Ms. Friedman Morris, his daughter, now informs us that an exhibition of his art will be displayed in Israel, after it was shown also in New York. To quote Ms. Morris:
Please mark your new Jewish year calendars for the opening of an exhibition of my father’s lost musician drawings on October 23, 18:00, at the Felicja Blumental Music Center & Library, Bialik 26, in Tel Aviv.
The portrayed musicians were outstanding soloists, conductors and members of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. Among the portraits are Jewish subjects forced to exile Germany, such as: Arnold Schoenberg, Szymon Goldberg, Gregor Piatigorsky, and Hansi Freudberg (Joanna Graudan). Also on exhibit will be the 1925 portrait of James Simon who performed in Theresienstadt and perished in Auschwitz.  
The exhibition is part of the Goethe Institute-Tel Aviv, Berlin Dayz program, until 16.12. Then it will be presented at the Goethe-Institut-Jerusalem from 19.12. until 10.02. From 20.02. 2014 on it will be presented at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. (Except for the opening in Tel Aviv, the dates need confirmation.) 
In New York the title was: GIVING MUSIC A FACE: David Friedmann's Lost Musician Portraits from the 1920's featuring the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. Here is a short film on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQFh748qS5Y However, the title translates awkwardly to Hebrew, so in Israel the title will be: THE LOST PORTRAITS – Sketches of Musicians of the 1920's by David Friedmann.
I put above an example, also sent by Ms. Friedman, of her father's art --  'Rabbis', ca. 1970. 

An additional -- if indirect -- chess connection is that Piatigorsky, whose portrait Friedmann drew, the famous cellist, was not only a chess fan, but married to Ms. Jacqueline Piatigorsky (née Rotschild) (1911-2012), who was one of the top women players in the USA for a long time. They organized the two Piatigorsky cup tournaments, among others, as well as the Fischer - Reshevsky match of 1961.

P.S.

Updated, 12/2/2013:  Ms. Friedman informs me that when they became naturalized in 1960, the family members, father included, dropped the last 'n' in its name, and the father became 'David Friedman'. Hence, following her suggestion, I am changing the spelling above in the 1970s painting. Ms. Friedman informs me, however, that when referring to earlier work, she still uses her father's name at the time, 'Friedmann'. Since this blog is mostly concerned with pre-1960s history, I keep the 'Friedmann' spelling in the labels and the blog in general.                                            

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