The group made its debut in 2000, then still under the name Cracow Klezmer Band, with the album De Profundis on the Tzadik label, run by the avant-garde New York saxophonist John Zorn.
Although the New York-based Klezmatics deserve credit for pioneering the rediscovery of Eastern European Jewish music, their example inspired dozens of European ensembles of at least equal originality. Among the finest is Poland’s Bester Quartet, originally known as the Cracow Klezmer Band. Unlike the Klezmatics, the quartet performs exclusively instrumental compositions intended for attentive listening rather than dancing. While the musicians possess a level of virtuosity rooted in classical music, spirituality consistently takes precedence over showmanship in their performances. Experts have often compared the group’s leader, Jarosław Bester, to the French jazz accordionist Richard Galliano.
The ensemble debuted in 2000 with the album De Profundis on the Tzadik label, headed by avant-garde New York saxophonist John Zorn. Its repertoire includes themes drawn from the tradition of old Eastern European klezmer bands, interpreted through a combination of improvisation and masterful command of acoustic instruments—violin, accordion, clarinet, and percussion.
Kraków, the group’s home city, did not become an epicenter of Eastern European klezmer culture by chance. The city’s Jewish quarter, Kazimierz, was founded in 1335 by the Polish king Casimir the Great and subsequently became Europe’s Jewish capital for several centuries. This era was tragically brought to an end by the Second World War. Depopulated by the Holocaust, Kazimierz remained in ruins throughout the forty-five years of Communist rule, which ironically preserved it as an authentic setting for Steven Spielberg’s film Schindler’s List. The film premiered simultaneously in Los Angeles and Kraków, and the resulting publicity became a catalyst for the district’s revival. Today, Kazimierz is a beautifully restored part of Kraków and the site of the International Festival of Jewish Culture, under whose auspices the Bester Quartet was founded.
The Bester Quartet traces its origins to 1997, when its members were students at the Kraków Academy of Music. Looking for ways to supplement their income, they began performing klezmer music in a local restaurant. Traditional Jewish repertoire inspired bandleader Jarosław Bester to compose his own works, and when the group sent recordings to John Zorn in 2000, the New York avant-gardist offered to release them on his Tzadik label.
During the group’s tour of the United States, American music critic Howard Reich wrote in The Chicago Tribune:
“For all their harmonic and rhythmic sophistication, these musicians place the highest value on holding the attention of the average listener. Their elegant ensemble playing, virtuosic solos, and the intelligence and drama of their performances compel audiences to hang on every note. Accordionist Jarosław Bester coaxed sounds from his instrument that you never imagined were possible. Violinist Jarosław Tyrała played with a purity of intonation and refinement that would have served equally well in a work by Mendelssohn or Brahms. Oleg Dyyak fulfilled the role of a musical chameleon, performing on accordion, clarinet, and percussion with complete authority and greatly expanding the ensemble’s expressive range. Bassist Wojciech Front ensured that changes of rhythm and tempo occurred seamlessly and almost imperceptibly.”
The group’s principal inspiration was not contemporary klezmer ensembles such as the Klezmatics, but archival recordings made by the first generation of Jewish immigrants in the United States.
“We listened to klezmer music through pre-war recordings by musicians such as clarinetists Dave Tarras and Naftule Brandwein, both of whom came from what is now Ukraine. At first, we played traditional Jewish music, but gradually we began to transform it. The turning point came when Jarosław Bester composed De Profundis, the title piece of our first album. That was when we began to rethink our views—not only on Jewish music, but on music in general. Our music evolved from traditional repertoire to original compositions, and from specifically Jewish styles toward contemporary and even avant-garde music.”
