Poignant and bitter-sweet without the schmaltz, for a while now virtuoso pianist ‘Daniel Cainer’ has been mapping the comic and musical refrains that have travelled with him and his loved ones down the generations. An unsurpassed storyteller and contemporary klezmer player, he demurely leads his audience on a profoundly intimate exodus, retracing a diaspora both genealogical and personal, across geography and morality, mapping the gap which emerges between the black and white absolutes of scripture and the multifaceted, fleeting lives of humans. He’s impartial without seeming detached, confident without seeming arrogant or aggressive. Schtick and Spiel draws the audience in to a rich cultural tradition and potentially unfamiliar language, without ever seeming condescending or reductive.

Gilded Balloon Teviot, until 26 Aug, 12.45pm.
tw rating 5/5 | [Joe Abel]

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