Psoy Korolenko

Psoy Galaktionovich Korolenko (; born April 26, 1967) is a pseudonym of a Russian songwriter and performer by the name of Pavel Eduardovich Lion . Pavel Lion is also a slavist with a Ph.D. in Russian literature.

Musical career His pseudonym comes from Russian writer Vladimir Korolenko (1853–1921), whose works are a subject of Pavel's research. In university, Korolenko studied under Russian literature historian , among others. Korolenko does indeed have a doctorate in Russian literature, and he has been invited to teach around the world. Korolenko is best known as a performer.

Psoy performs his own and others' songs, accompanying himself to keyboard instruments, mainly a Casio synthesizer in accordion timbre. Experimenting with quite various song traditions he sings in about six or seven languages, most frequently in Russian, Yiddish, English and French.

For example, one of Psoy's songs, Buratino, is an a capella rhythmic recitation of the same phrase – "Buratino byl tupoy" ("Buratino was dumb") – which after several repetitions starts to morph into other phrases, eventually shifting into Italian through syllable rearrangement. More phrases are then introduced and "mixed" vocally with it. The song is something of a parody of rap and trance music.

Psoy tours extensively beyond Russian borders, particularly in the United States, Europe and Israel. His music is popular both with adults (especially linguists) and teenagers. He rewrites many songs, and also has translated some songs from Russian to Yiddish. He has collaborated with musicians such as Julian Kytasty, Michael Alpert, and Daniel Kahn & The Painted Bird. He has been involved in events celebrating Bundist organisations, such as playing music for the 120th anniversary of the Jewish Labour Bund in Melbourne, Australia.

Korolenko was one of the principal artists behind the Yiddish Glory project, a musical and archival initiative led by University of Toronto scholar Anna Shternshis. The project revived previously unknown Yiddish songs written by Holocaust victims and survivors in the Soviet Union during World War II, discovered in the Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine.

Korolenko serves as a co-founder and the creative director of the annual JetLAG Festival in upstate New York, where he curates a lineup focused on avant-garde and klezmer. He is involved in promoting diverse musical genres within the festival's framework.

Korolenko has regularly taught Jewish folklore as a seasonal faculty member at Dartmouth College. His teaching is sponsored by the Jewish Studies Program and the East European, Eurasian & Russian Studies Department.

In 2019 he was awarded the Fiddler on the Roof Award in the "Cultural Event of the Year" category for the creation of the album Yiddish Glory.

Discography