Klezmer Concerto Berliner Philharmoniker & Noah Bendix-Balgley

• Noah Bendix-Balgley (b. 1984): Fidl-Fantazye. A Klezmer-Concerto for Violin and Chamber Orchestra (Orch. by Samuel Adler):
• 1 Bendix-Balgley: Fidl-Fantazye. A Klezmer-Concerto for Violin and Chamber Orchestra (Orch. by Samuel Adler): Ia. Khosidl 03:25
• 2 Bendix-Balgley: Fidl-Fantazye. A Klezmer-Concerto for Violin and Chamber Orchestra (Orch. by Samuel Adler): Ib. Doina 02:52
• 3 Bendix-Balgley: Fidl-Fantazye. A Klezmer-Concerto for Violin and Chamber Orchestra (Orch. by Samuel Adler): Ic. Balkan Dance: Sam's Terkischer 03:42
• 4 Bendix-Balgley: Fidl-Fantazye. A Klezmer-Concerto for Violin and Chamber Orchestra (Orch. by Samuel Adler): IIa. Doina – Nign 06:21
• 5 Bendix-Balgley: Fidl-Fantazye. A Klezmer-Concerto for Violin and Chamber Orchestra (Orch. by Samuel Adler): IIb. Hora 04:50
• 6 Bendix-Balgley: Fidl-Fantazye. A Klezmer-Concerto for Violin and Chamber Orchestra (Orch. by Samuel Adler): III. Doina – Freylekhs 05:49
• Traditional:
• 7 Traditional: Odessa Bulgar: Doina – Der Gasn Nign 03:50
• 8 Traditional: Odessa Bulgar 02:07
• 9 Traditional: Yismekhu, klezmer traditional for violin solo: Yismekhu 02:37
• Total Runtime 35:33

Info for Klezmer Concerto

Berliner Philharmoniker Recordings releases "Klezmer Concerto", featuring Noah Bendix-Balgley, on October 2. The digital album features Bendix-Balgley as violinist, composer, and arranger in music connecting the classical and klezmer traditions.

The album’s nine-track pallette is a tour through the heart and soul of Eastern European musical modes that wander and entertain like the klezmer bands of the Old World. From the opening lively dance “Khosidl” to the final liturgical poem “Yismechu” for solo violin, it’s a juicy mix of melancholy, exhilaration, humor, syncopation, and improvisation — born from considerable research by both Bendix-Balgley and his father, a dancer who specializes in Yiddish folk dance. Two of the tracks: #7 – “Odessa Bulgar Doina” and #8 -“Odessa Bulgar” practically rip the walls apart with their passion, speed, whimsy — and yes, Bendix-Balgley’s fancy, furious, and fabulous fiddling on the little blue roof. “Fidl-Fantazye” excels in its unique dual identity of classical-meets-klezmer throughout, predicting a long life in the musical sphere.

Noah Bendix-Balgley, a lover of klezmer music since childhood, wrote Fidl-Fantazye, a concerto for violin and chamber orchestra which brings out all the magic of the musical style. Ödön Pártos – whose Yizkor is performed by Amihai Grosz – and Samuel Adler emigrated to Palestine and the USA respectively in the 1930s. Their music combines avant-garde stylistic devices with Jewish and Middle Eastern folk music.

“I grew up with classical and klezmer music,” says Noah Bendix-Balgley. “My father specialises in Eastern European folk dance and Yiddish dance.” Even as a child, the current first concertmaster of the Berliner Philharmoniker regularly attended klezmer workshops and festivals, where he played in jam sessions and gave concerts. “Two musicians I studied with who had a particularly strong influence on me were the wonderful violinist Alicia Svigals (The Klezmatics) and the singer and violinist Michael Alpert (Brave Old World),” says the American violinist. “I’ve always considered my klezmer background a good counterbalance to my classical playing.”

Noah Bendix-Balgley, violin
Berliner Philharmoniker

Noah Bendix-Balgley
enjoys a wide-ranging musical life as a violinist. He is First Concertmaster of the Berliner Philharmoniker and tours both as a soloist and as a chamber musician. His clear and heartfelt personal sound has moved listeners around the world.

Noah appears frequently as soloist with leading international orchestras, as well as in recital at the world’s finest concert halls. Recent highlights include his concerto debut at Carnegie Hall as soloist on the Berliner Philharmoniker USA tour under the direction of Kirill Petrenko, a Japanese tour with the NHK Symphony Orchestra, his concerto debut at the Salzburg Easter Festival and debuts with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Orchestre National de Lyon, and the Iceland Symphony. His has performed with the Philharmonic Orchestras of Berlin, Dresden, Auckland, and Nagoya and the Shanghai, Utah, Quebec, Royal Danish, and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestras. As soloist, he has collaborated with conductors including Kirill Petrenko, Manfred Honeck, Tugan Sokhiev, Marek Janowski, Gustavo Gimeno, Leonard Slatkin, Long Yu, Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider, Marie Jacquot, and JoAnn Falletta. Noah recently curated and presented a week-long celebration of the violin as part of his Artist Residency with his hometown Asheville Symphony, including a solo violin recital and an all-concerto program. Additionally, Noah’s album Mozart/Sinigaglia with Kirill Petrenko and the Berliner Philharmoniker was released in June 2024 to critical acclaim.

Upcoming highlights of the 2026/27 season include performances of his Klezmer Concerto with The Florida Orchestra under the baton of Michael Francis, as well as appearances with the Orquesta de Córdoba and Macau Orchestra.

Noah is a renowned performer of traditional klezmer music, a musical style that has been part of his life since an early age. He has performed with groups such as Brave Old World, and has taught at many klezmer workshops. In 2016, Noah composed and premiered his own klezmer violin concerto, Fidl-Fantazye, with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, where he was concertmaster from 2011 to 2015. Since the premiere, he has also performed the work frequently worldwide, including with the Baltimore Symphony, China Philharmonic, Guangzhou Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, New World Symphony, and the Kammerakademie Potsdam. He presented the chamber orchestra version of the work in a special ‘Late Night ’ klezmer concert at the Philharmonie Berlin. A recording of this performance will be released in Fall 2026 on the Berliner Philharmoniker Recordings label.

A passionate chamber musician, Noah performs with the Rosamunde String Quartet that also includes members of the New York Philharmonic and Chicago Symphony, and with the multi-genre septet Philharmonix, which features members of both the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestras. Philharmonix tours worldwide, has an ongoing multi-year residency at Vienna’s Konzerthaus, and has released five albums. Noah’s festival highlights include the Seattle Music Festival, Bergen International Festival, Sarasota Music Festival, ChamberFest Cleveland, Zermatt Music Festival, Aix-en-Provence, La Jolla Summerfest and the Salzburg Festspiele.

Born in Asheville, North Carolina, Noah began playing the violin at age 4. At age 9, he played for Lord Yehudi Menuhin. He graduated from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and the Munich Hochschule. His principal mentors were Mauricio Fuks, Christoph Poppen and Ana Chumachenco. A laureate of the 2009 Queen Elisabeth Competition, he also won top prizes at the Long-Thibaud Competition in France and the Postacchini Competition in Italy.

Now a gifted educator himself, Noah teaches at the Karajan Academy of the Berliner Philharmoniker and is Visiting Faculty Member at the Curtis Institute of Music. He is on the faculty of the Morningside Music Bridge program, where he also a member of the Advisory Council. He has served on the juries of the Menuhin Competition, the Indianapolis International Violin Competition, and as chair of the violin jury at the the Carl Nielsen Competition.

Booklet for Klezmer Concerto