In 2023-24, the Lowell Milken Center for Music of American Jewish Experience examines a little-known but seminal artistic movement that profoundly influenced the development of Jewish art music in the 20th century, the St. Petersburg Society for Jewish Folk Music (1908-1917).

Milken Center artistic director and UCLA director of orchestral studies Neal Stulberg has curated the series and introduces these rarely-performed works on each program. Part I focuses on pairs of contrasting piano and chamber works by Society composers: Alexander Krein Poème, Op. 10 for cello and piano (1907-1910), Alexander Krein Aria, Op. 41 for violin and piano (1927), Alexander Veprik Piano Sonata No. 1, Op. 3 (1922), Alexander Veprik Piano Sonata No. 2, Op. 5 (1924), Mikhail Gnessin “Requiem” for Piano Quintet, Op. 11 (1914), Mikhail Gnessin Trio for Violin, Cello and Piano (“Requiem for our Lost Children”), Op. 63 (1943), Adam Millstein, violin, Tiffany Wee, violin (UCLA BM ’19), Connie Song, viola (UCLA BM ’19), Christopher Cho, cello (UCLA MM ’21), Brandon Zhou, piano (UCLA BM ’21; MM ’23), Neal Stulberg, piano.

For more information, visit these links:

St. Petersburg Society for Jewish Folk Music
Mikhail Gnessin
Alexander Krein
Alexander Veprik
About the St. Petersburg School

Acknowledgment 
The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music acknowledges the Gabrielino/Tongva peoples as the traditional land caretakers of Tovaangar (the Los Angeles basin and So. Channel Islands). As a land grant institution, we pay our respects to the Honuukvetam (Ancestors), ‘Ahiihirom (Elders) and ‘Eyoohiinkem (our relatives/relations) past, present and emerging.