Eleanor Mlotek Explained

Eleanor Chana Mlotek (née Gordon; April 9, 1922 – November 4, 2013) was a musicologist, specializing in Yiddish folklore. Isaac Bashevis Singer, the Yiddish writer and Nobel laureate, once called Mlotek and her husband, Joseph, “the Sherlock Holmeses of Yiddish folk songs.”^[1] She was also inducted in Hunter College's Hall of Fame.^[2]

WorldCat lists her as author of 70 works in 112 editions, in 6 languages.^[3] They include both collections of music and exhibition catalogs of Yiddish authors. She held the position of Music Archivist at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, and was also a columnist at the Yiddish Forward for over forty years.^{[4] [5]}

She was born in Brooklyn and is the mother of Zalmen Mlotek, the artistic director of the National Yiddish Theatre - Folksbiene, and Mark Mlotek, an attorney and current treasurer of The Forward.^[6]

She died November 4, 2013, at home in the Bronx at the age of 91.^{[7] [1]}

Publications

Books

• Mlotek, Eleanor G. S. Ansky: (Shloyme-Zanvl Rappoport) 1863-1920 : His Life and Works : Catalog of an Exhibition. [New York]: YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, 1980.^[8]
• Mlotek, Eleanor G., Malke Gottlieb, and Roslyn Bresnick-Perry. מיר זיינען דא : לידער פון די געטאס און לאגערן / Mir Zaynen Do: Lider Fun Di Geṭos Un Lagern. (We are here: songs of the Holocaust) New York, N.Y.: Aroysgegebn fun Bildungs ḳomiṭeṭ fun Arbeṭer-ring, 1983.^[9]
• Mlotek, Eleanor and Joseph Mlotek. Songs of Generations: New Pearls of Yiddish Song. New York, NY: Workmen's Circle.
• Mlotek, Eleanor and Joseph Mlotek. Pearls of Yiddish Song: Favorite Folk, Art and Theater Songs. New York, NY: Workmen's Circle, 1988.
• Mlotek, Eleanor G. Mir Trogn A Gezang: Favorite Yiddish Songs. 4th Edition. New York, NY: Workmen's Circle, 2000.
• Rubin, Ruth, Eleanor G. Mlotek, and Mark Slobin. Yiddish folksongs from the Ruth Rubin Archive. Detroit, Mich: Wayne State University Press, 2007.
• Mlotek, Eleanor and Joseph Mlotek. Pearls of Yiddish Poetry. New York, NY: KTAV Publishing Press, 2010.

Journal articles

• Molotek, Eleanor Gordon. "International motifs in the Yiddish ballad" studies in Jewish Language and Literature 209-281 (1964)
• Molotek, Eleanor Gordon. "America in East European folksong" The Field of Yiddish 1: 178-198 (1954)

Notes and References

1. News: A Yiddishe Momme of Music, Chana Mlotek, Dies at 91. Berger. Joseph. 2013-11-04. The New York Times. 2017-07-27. 0362-4331.
2. Web site: Archives of Alumni Association.
3. Web site: Mlotek, Eleanor G. [WorldCat.org]]. www.worldcat.org. May 13, 2019.
4. Web site: Contributions of Jewish Women to Music and Women to Jewish Music. https://web.archive.org/web/20120325040600/http://www.jmwc.org/Women/womenm.html. dead. March 25, 2012. May 13, 2019.
5. [Ruth Wisse|Ruth R. Wisse]
6. News: NYT. 5 November 2013. The New York Times. en-US. 2019-11-30. Berger . Joseph .
7. Web site: YIVO . YIVO Mourns the Passing of Chana Mlotek, 1922-2013 . yivo.org . 4 November 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131104213629/http://yivo.org/about/index.php?tid=154&aid=1225 . 4 November 2013 .
8. Book: Mlotek, Eleanor G. S. Ansky: (Shloyme-Zanvl Rappoport) 1863-1920 : his life and works : catalog of an exhibition. May 13, 1980. YIVO Institute for Jewish Research. 10304171.
9. "Music of the Holocaust: Highlights from the Collection" United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Web site: Music of the Holocaust . 2012-04-09 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120330194538/http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/music/detail.php?content=yisrolik . 2012-03-30 .