Moishe Hofmekler (1898–1965) was a violin virtuoso, the leader of Hofmekler Brothers Ensemble and Metropolis’ orchestra. For his achievements he was decorated with order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas (1932). In interwar Lithuania Moishe Hofmekler and the collectives under his leadership earned the reputation of the most professional and reputable instrumentalists of estrade music in Kaunas. The respectable Metropolis became their stage. M. Hofmekler was fluent in Lithuanian, encouraged Lithuanian composers to write pop music. He also performed classical works by Juozas Pakalnis, Emerikas Gailevičius, Juozas Tallat-Kelpša, Stasys Šimkus and Juozas Gruodis, arranged works by foreign and Lithuanian composers for orchestra, recorded a number of plates of shellac with celebrities of the Lithuanian little stage. In 1926, Hofmekler and a septet organised the first Kaunas Radio concert. During the weekends Kaunas Radiophone allotted one-hour broadcast to Hofmeklerband live from Metropolis. In Berlin in 1928 and Kaunas in 1931, Metropolis orchestra recorded a number of plates of shellac, which were often broadcast on Kaunas Radio.
Rūta Skudienė
