I discovered Max Raabe the last winter thanks to ARTE, and it was love from the first song. Raabe and his Palast Orchester specializes in the German cabaret music style of the 20s and early 30s. He has a scenic presence that combines elegance and humor. All the members of the band and especially violinist Cecilia Crisafuli and pianist Ian Wekwerth are remarkable musicians, they seem happy to play together and they make the audiences feel how good they feel about it. I was excited to hear that he comes to Israel and it was great to be in the audience in their first show tonight.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qB1_DDv7iF0
Although their repertoire is not limited to music from the 20s and the 30s (but all is played in this style) the program tonight was exclusively built of compositions to that period. All German songs were written before 1933, the year of the fall in the abyss of German and Raabe dully mentioned the year of the composition together with the title of every song. My Little Green Cactus is one of the examples of the German songs written in that period that Raabe presented tonight as well.
(video source MICHELMUSIK123)
From the more international repertoire here is the originally Yidish Bei Mir Bistu Shein and a more delicate version of Singing in the Rain which was to be made famous by Gene Kelly more than two decades after its first auditions.
The tour in Israel started tonight. They will be tomorrow again at the Opera House in Tel Aviv, then on Wednesday in Jerusalem at the Sherover Theatre and on Thursday in Haifa at the Krieger Centre for the Performing Arts. As in the concert tonight I expect the halls to be full of enthusiastic yekis.