April 2025Gerald Cohen – Steal a Pencil for MeOpera Colorado; Ari PeltoSono Luminus SLE-20034 The evil Nazi era of the 30s and 40s stole more than six million lives. But that Holocaust during World War II held many miracles in secret. One of these unfolds on this exquisite double-disc, in a deeply expressive opera with […]
The New Recording of an Important Opera Composed by a Jewish Theological Seminary Assistant Professor in the H. L. Miller Cantorial School The recording of Steal a Pencil for Me, an opera by composer Gerald Cohen (Assistant Professor, H. L. Miller Cantorial School) and librettist Deborah Brevoort, has just been released on Sono Luminus Recordings. Read […]
Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion is thrilled to present a special Q&A with HUC-JIR faculty member Cantor Gerald Cohen, the composer of Steal a Pencil for Me, an opera in two acts that captures one of the Holocaust’s most poignant love stories. Created by Cantor Cohen and librettist Deborah Brevoort, the opera is set against […]
Review by Barry KilpatrickJan-Feb 2024American Record Guide (Vol. 87, Issue 1) COHEN: Voyagers; Playing for Our Lives; Preludes & Debka Narek Arutyunian, cl; Colin Williams, trb; Cassatt Quartet. innova Recordings 090. 65 minutes Here is the Cassatt Quartet in works by Gerald Cohen. Two are collaborations with soloists. The 4-movement, 29-minute Voyagers (2017) has clarinetist […]
Read the full review at Gerald Cohen, Voyagers, New Music for String Quartet, Clarinet and Trombone, Gapplegate Classical-Modern Music Review. “What matters in the end is the authentic and dedicated performativity of it all, the highly crafted and careful building of a particular work from the ground up with great care, skill, and eloquently inventive […]
Psalm 121, which gave Rabbi Jeffrey Myers solace in the wake of the tragedy, has been set to music in a piece commissioned by the Tree of Life congregation and composed by Gerald Cohen. Learn more about the piece: A PSALM FOR PITTSBURGH – ESA EINAI (PSALM 121) Learn more about the November 8th premiere […]
Timeliness in works of art is an uncertain thing. A headline may inspire a piece, but by the time the public sees the work, later developments may have passed it by. Conversely, a worthy work of general interest may be lifted by events to a more acute kind of significance… Learn more about the piece: […]
The Defiant Requiem Foundation is set to present the world premiere of Gerald Cohen’s “they burn, the fires of the night: lamentations from the ashes” on Oct. 25, 2023 at the Heller Museum at Hebrew Union College in New York City.
Pittsfield High string quartet channels a dark but defiant corner of music history in ‘Playing for Our Lives’ Posted Monday, July 15, 2019 6:42 pm, Berkshire Eagle By Jenn Smith Here for link to original article in the Berkshire Eagle LENOX — Out of one of the darkest eras in human history, the Holocaust, rose some powerful musical performances […]