Story
Kalmele Weitz, The Boy Cantor
Kalman 'Kalmele' Weitz, known as “The Boy Cantor,” and ‘The Young Caruso” was born in 1916 in Grosswardein in Austro-Hungary on the Romanian border in what is currently known as Oradea, Romania. Weitz was a Jewish liturgical musician, concert performer frequently accompanying himself on piano, and a cantor, who hailed from a creative family of traditional scribes, rabbis, musicians and more. He debuted at six years of age before hundreds in a packed local synagogue on a Jewish holiday, and subsequently went on to tour widely in Central and Western Europe, even appearing in a musical film directed by composer Ferdinand Straub.
Pier 86
Weitz arrived in New York in July, 1928 at the age of 12, on the SS Leviathan.
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Pier 86
In this photo we see the faithful Leviathan docked at Pier 86 in Manhattan, located at 12th Avenue and West 46th Street. Not seasick at all apparently, Weitz soon set off to his one of his first recordings, Hineni heoni, only a month later for the Victor Recording Co. based in Camden, N.J. but with recording studios in the city.
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42-46 West 38th Street
The Victor recording studios on W 46th were just a few blocks away from New York's favorite lunchroom and ice cream joint. It’s hard not to imagine the “boy cantor” stopping in at Schrafft’s for a sweet treat to celebrate his recording debut (which actually took place in Camden, NJ)! But wait, was it kosher?
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Schrafft's, 38th Street
As one of the few child-cantors to go on to have a music career as an adult, Weitz recorded numerous songs in both the U.S. and in South America, where he later made his home.
Also the son of a cantor, Weitz performed solo concerts of liturgical and popular music from early childhood, in which he accompanied himself on the piano. His repertoire included works in Yiddish and Hebrew, as well as English, German and Spanish. He toured in Poland, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Italy, Holland, Germany, the USA (for the first time in 1928), Argentina (in 1929 and 1941), Uruguay, Chile, and Brazil.
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Casino Theatre
Managed by impresarios Edwin A. Relkin and Sigmund Weintraub Weitz performed at the Casino Theatre among other venues in the city including many synagogues.
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185 East Broadway
Weitz was prolific, establishing a cantorial training school, and a cantor's professional organization among other things. When he wasn't teaching, performing or organizing, he was working as a correspondent for local Yiddish newspaper The Jewish Morning Journal, located at 185 East Broadway. Der Tog Morgn Dzhurnal, as it was known in Yiddish closed in 1971. Cantor Kalman 'Kalmele" Weitz died June 16 1980 in Montevideo, Uruguay.
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