Alexander Estis and Trio Scho

In his linguistically acrobatic satires, Jewish wit, the Russian storytelling tradition and a delight in the German language converge – and gleefully contradict one another. His texts are reminiscent of Talmudic thinking: every answer is followed by a new question, every certainty by a doubt, every thought by a counter-thought. It is precisely from this interplay that insight arises.

But what is Jewish humour? Why is a Jewish joke never just a joke? Perhaps because, in the Jewish storytelling tradition, laughter and tears have been closely intertwined for centuries. In Estis’s work, the punchline becomes a philosophical tool: it exposes prejudices, plays with clichés and transforms pain into linguistic art.

And where could the ‘schmonzes’ be more at home than in Odessa – that legendary port city on the Black Sea, where languages, religions and cultures have converged for centuries? Odessa is less a geographical location than a way of life: a blend of Yiddish, Russian and Ukrainian, of melancholy and exuberance, of stories that may well be true. And if not – all the better told.

Music is part and parcel of this world. Trio Scho brings Jewish, Ukrainian and Russian traditions, klezmer, swing and Eastern European melodies to the stage. Since its formation in 1991 in Poltava, Ukraine, and its subsequent move to Berlin, the ensemble has combined musical virtuosity with subtle humour – true to its motto: the main thing is that it’s not just beautiful, but also ‘scho’.

Together, Alexander Estis and Trio Scho create an evening that straddles literature and music, Berlin and Odessa, Tacheles and Schmonzes. An evening full of wit, a love of language and melancholy – and full of stories that reveal more about the world than many a truth.

Alexander Estis, born in 1986 in Moscow into a Jewish family of artists, lives in Switzerland. There he is considered German; in Germany he is regarded as Russian; and in Russia as Jewish. This interplay with origin, language and labels shapes his writing. Following a ‘successfully abandoned PhD’, Estis devotes himself to the search for the (non-)sense of life – and finds a surprising amount of truth in it. His unmistakable style combines Jewish humour, linguistic virtuosity and the Ashkenazi storytelling tradition. He writes essays, commentaries and columns for publications including the FAZ, SZ, DIE ZEIT and NZZ. He has received numerous awards for his literary miniatures and satires, most recently the Kurt Tucholsky Prize.

Trio Scho was founded in 1991 in Poltava, Ukraine, and moved to Berlin in 1994. With great enthusiasm, the ensemble blends Jewish, Ukrainian and Russian musical traditions – songs full of wit and melancholy, longing and a zest for life.

Since 1999, Trio Scho has collaborated regularly with the singer and actor Karsten Troyke. The ensemble has twice been honoured at the Berlin Senate’s music competition.