Emil and Sanya Kroitor with the Talmudi Brothers and the Trance Moldovian Express

Last of the Gypsies Found at Yad Eliyahu Neighborhood in East Tel Aviv Tickets

The Talmudi musician brothers had to travel to Poland to learn about Emil Kroitor, composer, conductor, accordion player and an exceptional musician. About a decade ago, while performing at a festival in Krakow, composer and musicologist Assaf Talmudi sat down to talk with members of the Ukrainian Orchestra that told him about the intriguing Jewish musician who immigrated to Israel and praised his unique work. Upon his return to Israel, Assaf searched the telephone directory and found Emil and his son Sanya, who live here in Yad Eliyahu neighborhood in Tel Aviv. The Talmudi brothers‘ Klezmer Orchestra, Oy Division, began hosting Emil Kroitor in their performances and learning from him about his fabulous musical tradition.

Emil Kroitor was born in Moldova on the Romanian border in 1947, and immigrated to Israel in the late 1990s. From an early age, he worked as a musician playing at weddings and with local bands alongside Moldovan, Romanian, Gypsy and Jewish musicians. He studied conducting at the Music Academy in Kishinev and was a concertmaster and conductor of the Kishinev Folklore Orchestra. Over the years, he arranged and composed music for orchestras, television and theater. Emil Kroitor joins the Talmudi brothers in Eilat together with his son, Sanya, an outstanding classical and folklore master violinist, and The Trance Moldovian Express featuring a unique musical project that was initially commissioned by the Jewish Culture Festival in Krakow and premiered last summer in 2019.

This collaboration fulfills a long time dream of the Talmudi brothers who wished to introduce new audiences to Kroitor’s rich and sweeping music that combines southern Moldovan regional and Gypsy melodies with Jewish music, creating a singular and distinct sound and feel. Perceptive and skillful, Kroitor’s lyrical compositions inspire both sadness and joy. The connection of new and old brings into the local jazz scene a fierce and aromatic flavor of international folkloric panache. Popular Moldovan music has developed in social events and parties and is in a sense an old version of the trance music that all DJs play today at dance parties, fast and repetitive with a psychedelic touch creating an uplifting, joyful and released state of mind through listening and dance. This band resembles a profuse family, fast playing, drinking plenty and enjoying the party energy of a celebration, which can rarely be found. A hearty feast of fast and furious Moldovan treats.

Emil Kroitor

Emil Kroitor Accordion
Sanya Kroitor Violin
Assaf Talmudi Accordion, Piano
Eyal Talmudi Clarinet

Trance Moldovian Express:

Sefi Sizzling Trumpet
Uzi Feinerman Guitar, Banjo, Mandolin
Gilad Abro Double Bass
Aviv Cohen Drums

Photo by: Michal Ram