Izso G. Glickstein (HU: Iczek Glückstein. Alternative names recorded: Isidore, Isaak, Yitzchok, Izso Garay, Izso Garai Glueckstein, Izso Gary) was a naturalized American cantor (hazzan). Glickstein was born on September 20, 1889, in Chișinău, Moldova and died on April 17, 1947, in Roxbury, Massachusetts. He was a fourth-generation, world-class chazzan and one of the "leading Jewish singers in America ranking with Cantor Josef "Yossele" Rosenblatt and others of equal prominence." He served as Chief Cantor at multiple synagogues including Europe's largest (the Great Synagogue of Budapest) and Leonard Bernstein's childhood synagogue in Roxbury, Massachusetts (Temple Mishkan Tefila). He hosted a weekly radio program on Boston's WORL and was heard often on WNAC to popularize Hebrew music. Izso performed hundreds of concerts, was the President of the New England's Cantor's Association, and made multiple recordings of cantorial music.
Cantorial Lineage
Izso (HU: Iczek Glückstein) was the oldest surviving son of Ezekiel Glickstein and Gizella Paskar (HU: Gitta Paszkar). Izso's cantorial lineage is summarized below.
Izso's grandfather Moshe Glickstein was a second-generation cantor born in Hannopil, Ukraine, where his father Haskel was the cantor in a town famous for its prominent role in the growth of the mystical Hasidism movement. Fleeing the growth of anti-semitism in central Ukraine around 1885, the family moved to Chișinău, Moldova which at this time was a thriving haven for Jews, thanks to the progressive programs of its mayor, Carol Schmidt from 1877 to 1903. Moshe became Chief Cantor of the Great Synagogue of Kishinev and his son Ezekiel completed rabbinical school. It was during this phase of intense Jewish prosperity that Izso was born (1889).
Early life
Izso's earliest memory of wanting to become a cantor was listening to his grandfather, Chief Cantor Moshe Glickstein, chant ancient prayers at the Great Synagogue of Kishinev. At the age of eight Izso was asked by his Grandfather to sing in his choir. Izso recalled this as one of the greatest events in his life, and was immediately hailed by the congregation as a prodigy or "wonder child." It was also during this time that Izso heard the famous cantor Zeidel Rowner (Jacob Samuel Maragowsky) sing when he visited The Great Synagogue of Kishinev. He then adopted the aspiration to become a great cantor. A year later, Izso's father Ezekiel graduated from rabbinical seminary and took a post in Zhytomyr. Ezekiel and Moshe vied for Izso's presence in their choirs. Izso preferred his grandfather's great synagogue over his father's smaller, remote synagogue. The dispute was resolved by Ezekiel paying Moshe to let Izso sing in Zhytomyr. The dispute over the nine-year-old Izso broadened. Other synagogues wanted Izso to sing for their choirs, but Ezekiel refused. One synagogue actually kidnapped Izso for the high holidays when he was still nine years old. The raiders came in the night and took him 20 kilometers away. Izso was returned after the festival with candy, toys, and 200 rubles (a small fortune at the time). As the Jewish population in Chișinău grew to a large percent of the total population and dominated many aspects of commerce, resentment and anti-semitism grew. Sensing trouble, the family once again packed up and around 1896 moved to Rákoscsaba, Budapest, Hungary.
Education
Izso and his four younger brothers studied Talmud and learned Hebrew melodies with their father Ezekiel from an early age. After arriving to Rákoscsaba, Ezekiel was elected the high honor of Dayan or leader and advisor for the Jewish community. Izso entered public school and was advanced rapidly. At the ages of 15 through 18 (1904-1907) Izso was a member of the Orthodox Rumbach Street Synagogue and sang in the choir of the famous cantor Jacob Bachman. At the age of 19 (1908), Izso was sponsored by a wealthy Budapest woman to study voice in Nitra, Slovakia for a year, perhaps with Mordechai Krasnansky, a famous Nitra cantor at that time. The following year, at age 20 (1909), a wealthy merchant living in Rákoscsaba sponsored Izso's attendance at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest. During his first year, Izso won an additional three-year scholarship from the school and completed four years of study (1909 to 1913). During his tenure at the Liszt Academy, Izso studied under Jenő Hubay as did Fritz Reiner and Joseph Szigeti, another prodigy.