Joseph Moskowitz (, 1879 – 1954) was an American cimbalom player, composer, restaurant owner and recording artist in New York City during the first half of the twentieth century. A descendant of a family of klezmer musicians, he was among the most well-known American cimbalom players of his time, and had a wide repertoire which included not only Jewish music but also Romanian, classical, and ragtime music. He is thought to have composed over 100 cimbalom pieces which drew upon various musical influences. His restaurant Moskowitz & Lupowitz, on Second Avenue also became a popular destination and celebrity hangout in the 1920s and 1930s.
Biography
Early life
Moskowitz was born in Galați, Romania, in July 1879. His father Moses Moskowitz (nicknamed Moshe Tsimbler) was a klezmer musician and cimbalom player who was Joseph's first teacher. Joseph learned the cimbalom as well as the violin from his father. Another relative, Joseph's cousin nicknamed Jonah Tsimbler (Diamant) also became a cimbalom player. Joseph was a childhood friend of the writer Konrad Bercovici, also born in Galați. As a youth, Joseph toured Hungary, Romania, Galicia, and Istanbul, and played on river boats on the Danube. He apparently toured and performed with Broder singer troupes as well. He emigrated to the United States in December 1907 with his wife Rebecca, sailing from Bremen.
Music and restaurant career
Moskowitz's original reason to travel to the United States was apparently an invitation to perform in Boston. After making appearances in cafés there and in New York, Moskowitz toured the United States for the next five years, often with the Matus Gypsy Ensemble or in hotel orchestras. That tour apparently did a lot to develop what would become his style and repertoire, which came to include not only Jewish and Romanian music but also international cosmopolitan repertoire and contemporary American music. At some point between 1909 and 1913 (sources disagree), he opened a restaurant, the Moskowitz Wine Cellar, on Rivington Street in Manhattan's Lower East Side. His wife was the cook. This restaurant was a narrow cellar lit by gas lamps, with pastoral Romanian scenes painted on the wall, where up to a hundred customers smoked and drank wine while listening to his playing. He became a Naturalized citizen of the United States in March 1915.
His recording career began in 1916, a time when the "ethnic" recording industry in New York was expanding aggressively. He recorded roughly 30 sides for Victor Records in 1916-7, including especially Romanian music, but also ragtime, klezmer, and various European and South American pieces. His recordings from that era were all made with piano accompaniment, usually by Max Yussim, who he occasionally performed in concert with as well. His wide performing repertoire and deep knowledge of Romanian music also apparently influenced other Jewish recording artists in the New York area, such as Dave Tarras.
He soon relocated to Houston Street and opened Little Rumania. The restaurant became quite popular, especially among Romanian Jews and young writers, and was soon expanded into the adjoining cellar to make room for the growing clientele. There, Moskowitz played his instrument, often sharing the stage with top violinists and pianists. Stephen Graham, a British writer who spent time in New York in the 1920s, wrote an account of a night he spent in Little Rumania. He said that earlier in the evening, Moskowitz circulated among the guests while a singer and pianist performed Yiddish and American numbers. Then, when the place was full, Moskowitz got on stage and performed various European folk numbers (Romanian, Hungarian, Russian, French) as well as some light classical music by Tchaikovsky and Brahms. It was only much later in the night that he would play dance tunes which were danced by a group of Jewish men.
He later opened a new restaurant on Second Avenue at Second Street called Moskowitz & Lupowitz. This new upscale restaurant began to attract celebrities, bohemians, and writers, including Jascha Heifetz, Eddie Cantor, Sid Caesar, Mischa Elman, Joseph Pulitzer, Abraham Reisen and H. L. Mencken. He continued to entertain his patrons with his music performances late into the night, as they ate the hearty Romanian Jewish cuisine.