Pedotser

Pedotser ( or , 1828–1902), pronounced Pedutser in most Yiddish dialects, was the popular name of Aron-Moyshe Kholodenko, a nineteenth century Klezmer violin virtuoso, composer and bandleader from Berdychiv, Russian Empire. He was one of a number of virtuosic klezmers of the nineteenth century, alongside Yosef Drucker "Stempenyu", Yehiel Goyzman "Alter Chudnover" and Josef Gusikov.

According to Moisei Beregovsky, Pedotser's ensemble was the best in Berdychiv and his compositions were among the most popular pieces at Jewish weddings in Ukraine in the late nineteenth century. Although he did not publish or record any music during his lifetime, a number of klezmer compositions and dances still being played in the twentieth century were attributed to him.

Biography Pedotser was born in 1828, probably in Berdychiv, Kiev Governorate, Russian Empire (today located in Zhytomyr Oblast, Ukraine).

His klezmer ensemble gradually came to be the most popular in Berdychiv, and his compositions started spreading to other cities. The normal size of his orchestra was twelve musicians, but it could be expanded to fifteen for rich weddings or eighteen for a ball.

He died in 1902 in Berdychiv. Among his well-known descendants were the Yiddish language poets Shifra Kholodenko and her brother David Hofstein.

Legacy After his death Pedotser's most famous compositions continued to circulate in Ukraine and were passed down in the repertoire of klezmer ensembles, or written down in manuscripts of bandleaders or musicians who learned them. Among these were the second violinist of his ensemble, Nathan Sapir; Motl Shteyngart of Bogopol, whose manuscript ended up in the collection of Susman Kiselgof; and Nokhum Noten of Bershad, whose manuscripts ended up in the hands of Soviet researcher of Jewish music Moisei Beregovsky.

His compositions also made it into early recordings of klezmer music, although they were rarely credited. One melody which is commonly ascribed to him was recorded by Belf's Romanian Orchestra in around 1910 as , by Harry Kandel's Orchestra in 1921 as and by Art Shryer's Orchestra in 1929 as . And the Zimro Ensemble, a modern sextet drawing on Jewish folk music sources which toured the world in 1918–21, played some of his pieces (a taxim and another called "Gahit") as part of their repertoire.