The rule kol isha versus the roles of jewish women in musical life of Galician Jews in the interwar period

The article discusses the role of Jewish women in musical life of Galician Jews in the interwar period. It presents women-musicians as facilitators, participants and managers of musical life of Polish and Jewish society. They acted as audience, teachers, performers, but also more and more often they became influential figures of musical life of Polish and Jewish society. They were opinion-forming critics, founders and directors of music institutions. The analysis of their biographical data indicates their strong commitment in Polish musical life and their work for Polish musical institutions that were the first public performing spaces opened to them. The article also shows the process of returning to the Jewish community in the interwar period where at that time they could perform the same professions as male members of Jewish Music Societies. The article pays particular attention to the issue of the attitude of Jewish women and the whole Jewish community to the rule kol isha according to which women couldn’t sing in public. In the interwar period women were active performers not just in European and Polish public musical life but also in Jewish one. They were the choristers in progressive synagogues and secular Jewish choirs; teachers and headmasters of Jewish music schools; they were also virtuoso instrumentalists, music critics, scholars, and members of Jewish Music Societies’ boards. However, it seems that sometimes despite of outward signs of modernity they were still strongly attached to tradition. They more often chose the profession of instrumentalist than singer, more often acted as teachers than concerting musicians despite being excellent musicians. However, the issue of the influence of Jewish tradition and customs, the tastes and needs of Jewish audience, but also the transformation of Jewish music itself (eg. development of vocal genres in Jewish classical music) on the role of the women in musical life of the Jewish community still awaits for the detailed analysis.