" ... He can autopsy the theatre and and can tell accurately how to measure not only the heart and innards, but every single cell. …The public sings Rumshinsky’s motifs because he does not stray. He is not ashamed to say that he writes for the crowd. … Rumshinsky would’ve also been a good actor, a good director and even a good dancer. All of these elements are felt in his creations because a hidden strength vibrates in them, allowing the player and the singer to feel the pulse of life. … He is for them a magician, he hypnotizes and doesn’t work at it too hard …”

"In the sunny operetta, Rumshinsky He has twenty such sweet, melodic numbers. It's really hard to indicate with song (composition) is better. All of them are good, they enter into our hearts, into the soul, and all the members sing along. As an example, the songs are: 'Shoyn iz dos lebn,' 'Libe un glik,' 'Oy, s'iz a mekhaye (Oh, It is a Pleasure),' "S'vilt zikh shteln a khupe,' 'Ven di zun gayt oyf (Sunrise),' 'Er libt mikh yo, er libt mikh nit (He Loves Me, He Doesn't Love Me),' the counts' 'Vig-lid,' and the unhappy Moshe Golem's song of lament, 'Ver bin ikh? (Who Am I?).' "

" ... Rumshinsky is also a good observer and able narrator. He notices the uniqueness of people, that which divides the individual from the mass, and he knows how to formulate it in simple, clear words. ... The first part of the book takes place in Old Russia during the first twenty years of Rumshinsky's life. Rumshinsky leads us into a society where several worlds collide: the cantor, the Yiddish theatre, and the gentile circus and cabarets. ... From the images one gets an excellent idea of the condition of Yiddish theatre at that time, and a concept of the internal forces that kept it alive. The most interesting part of the book is found in the later sections, where it talks about America. ...  The American section of the book are less autobiographical and carry the character of historical and artistic essays.  ... Rumshinsky figures very much in the entire book. In the American section, however, he only figures as a composer, as a creator, like the rest of the artists, managers and personalities about whom he tells about. About his personal, intimate life, about his own experiences, he write less there. ... Even about his 'business experiences' in the theatre, Rumshinsky gives us very little. ... In general, notice that Rumshinsky wants to talk less about material, everyday things. For him, the book, like his musical creations, is not a matter for soul-raising. ... As you read this book, you will love the theatre more, and it will become dear to you. You see the actors in a magic light, and in you awakens a longing after those evenings when you saw the plays, and the actors about whom Rumshinsky tells you about."

" ... Most of the chapters of the book are published in the "Tog" and possess the character of an episodic  "coffee-conversation," with a certain "spirit," a pink lightness and humor. Included in the tablets of a book of over eight hundred pages, this "fluffiness" becomes bloated and loses even more weight. .. But not looking at this, the book possesses enough content -- partially even richness in form -- that it should interest the reader, especially those who are looking for a sniff of the atmosphere around the theatre and his behind-the-curtain's elements. ... He possesses the ability to give in several words the main characteristic of a human being. ... this book also gives us a certain amount of interesting words from the Yiddish theatre greats. ... performing/passing various phases of Yiddish and non-Yiddish theatre can tell you piquant behind-the-scenes stories. ... The chapters ... bring a piece, 'Kunst-hu-ha,' from the former 'East Side' in New York, with all the joy and tragedies of the theatre world of that 'golden epoch.' ... At times, the book is written lively, smooth, though primitive-narrative, and sometimes even amateurish. ... The theatre stories are interwoven with light humor but even more with simple behind the scenes- and coffeehouse jokes. But not looking at all the "hints about love," and even intrigues, they were written in a restrained way, with tact and often even with taste. Understand that it lacks not even the meager modesty of "I am the first" (as is usual in the memories of theatre people), but Rumshinsky is much more sincere, does not even keep quiet over his own weaknesses, and it almost never manifests itself in the rich role of an 'art-alrightnik.' ... Also through small episodes there are created character features, short, scarce remarks and words, a little bit of material that can serve as studies for biographies and monographs of known Yiddish stage artists."

" ... As I have written popular music, that is, music that, as soon as one hears it, penetrates the thoughts of the listener, such music is already very easy, and it seems that you have already heard it. I used to listen to the comments on my music: 'It really is very good, but he takes, he borrows.' There were good friends who made attentive music publishers, and managers of Broadway theatres who really used to come down with musical detectives. In the many years of my career as a composer, I have not been to court for such things, that is, for using my music. I must add, however, that I greatly admired my fathers and especially my mothers. I have transferred many very heartfelt melodies to the people, with modern harmony and with great success. And to whomever thinks a music number has become popular, the sounds became more and more widespread."

" ... After I had already written for Boris Thomashefsky, and with Boris Thomashefsky, 'The Broken Violin,' 'Up Town and Down Town,' 'Mazl Tov,' 'Di lustike yidelekh (The Jolly Hebrews),' 'Di khazante,' -- all great operettas that are referred to in this world-repertoire "comic operas," because they are more like operettas and contain heavier, more serious music than operettas -- We decided that our next operetta should be built on folk melodies, which the people can and do remember. To the nations of the world this is not new: Richard Wagner, Carl von Weber, even Beethoven have used songs with folk melodies, but building an entire operetta on folk melodies in the Yiddish theatre was the first attempt, and we indeed gave the operetta the name of, "Di alte lidele (An Old-Fashioned Melody)." ... As the music of the operetta was a success, a pleasant one, with hits folk-motifs, romantic songs, arias, ensembles, which carried a folk character and had a folk appeal, such that the play was awkward. It did not stick word for word."

"I have seldom ever had great luck with good, healthy subjects and fine content to my perfect music. I spent my whole life trying to come up with silly content and awkward prose with my music."

" ... Rumshinsky's energy did not know of any measure. He wrote, planned, helped organizations, institutions, clearly events and rarely took money for his work. When Yeshiva University stood a little closer to the Yiddish street, Rumshinsky every winter, in the span of years, for them he directed large musical spectacles in the Waldorf Astoria and attracted distinguished Yiddish writers to assist in the literary part of the work.

... In recent years, when he had to see how the Yiddish theatre was shrinking, he suffered greatly. He suffered both because he loved the theatre with eternal love, and because he could not tolerate the idea that he should no longer have where and for whom to write. He was afraid to imagine his life without a theatre."

"That the lyrics of the above songs, I mean the text of our prophets, is good, knowing all, and as far as my music for this [is concerned], we will rely on musicians and singers. Cantors and concert singers used to complain to me until now why I haven't written an important Yiddish song in a long time. It is indeed with the help of the publisher Henry Lefkowitz of the Metro Music Company, who helped me get my three songs published. True Yiddish melodies always accompany this Jew in body and in joy."

" ... He always dreamed that he would succeed in visiting the State of Israel and seeing his Hebrew work performed there. He even planned to bring in two or three acclaimed singers for the lead roles."

" ... His music is sung wherever the Yiddish word is present, and many of the theatre songs that the deceased has composed, are included in the treasure of Yiddish folk music and are pearls of Yiddish melodies. They will be sung as long as Yiddish is heard throughout the world. ... Rumshinsky generally had a light pen, not only for music, but also concerning the written word. There are [many of his] articles about music and Yiddish theatre, which have for many years been published in the 'Forward,' which were read with great interest, because he always has something to say. He was personally acquainted with the greatest Yiddish and non-Yiddish musicians of our generation."

" ... In the music of the operetta there was also a change. Usually the music was taken and composed in such a way that the eyes did not tear with its strangeness. Still with him came an aspiration to create his own music, and thanks to this, we have had more Yiddish music and operettas in recent years. "

" ... Until the very end he dreamed of theatre offerings. He often spoke to me about a Yiddish "revue," artistic, fine, that might be both Yiddish, modern. Once, over a glass of coffee, he spoke a lot about such a musical-artistic small arts theatre, acidly smiled and responded: 'I know that you think -- that nothing will become of this. I am afraid that you are also right' ... and crying for a while, he added: 'But there is no burning, dear friends, let us at least speak of burning' -- He continued to cry and then with a type of sadness said: 'What will be? It's not good after all ... Will it ever perish like this? We need to do something ...'

Ehrenreich tells that when they were at the cemetery plot of the [Yiddish] Theatrical Alliance and observed that on the gravestone of the composer Alexander Olshanetsky there was not one Yiddish word, Rumshinsky murmured: "When I will be lying here, my friends, you should know that a piece of Yiddish theatre will lie here, remember, Yiddish."

" ... His aphorisms and equivalence were clever and shrewd. In the greater despair, he always found the necessary equivalent of what he and the actors should be able to laugh at. He also was, by nature, a bohemian and a sport, he was not small in his dealings with men. When someone needed help, he was the first to put his hand in his pocket, and when it came to giving free concerts, arranging benefit productions for poor actors, or theatre unions, he never had any spare time. He rewrote, orchestrated, conducted and still raised a fortune when needed.

... Rumshinsky was always a Hasid of the Art Theatre. And when he was invited to be the musical director of the Art Theatre, he felt very happy."

" ... As a theatre composer, Joseph Rumshinsky embodied everything that was good, and everything that was bad in this commercial Yiddish theatre. He had a long and successful theatre career, if one would measure the success in his career from such operettas as "The Rabbi's Melody," "The Golden Bride," "The Broken Violin," or "Tsipke," "Mamele," and "Molly Dolly." ... His career must have been a success, when one would measure it with his theatrical songs, which were composed by the Jewish masses and ingrained in the Jewish way of life: "I Pray For Home," "Yosl, Yosl," "Sheyn vi di levone (As Beautiful As the Moon)," and others. but ... as a musician, he knew ... but as a musician, he knew ... that he was not a leader and not a builder of the Yiddish theatre, but only a facilitator and companion ... that suited the needs of the entrepreneurs.

For a certain time, in the late twenties, Joseph Rumshinsky found a certain measure of satisfaction in the fresh talent of Molly Picon ... He also revived musically in the couple of years that he was associated with the Yiddish Art Theatre and created music for, "Hershele Ostropoler," "Three Gifts," and "Roaming Stars." But in the years that the Yiddish operetta -- like the Yiddish theatre in general --took a hurried step downhill, Joseph Rumshinsky followed. Although he was in love with Yiddish melodies and contributed greatly to the integration of Yiddish folk songs in the operetta, he nevertheless helped to transfer the Yiddish operetta on new rails from the Broadway 'musical comedy.'  ... It was with love and life that he dedicated himself to the theatre profession and wanted to save the Yiddish theatre from its downhill descent. Much of Rumshinsky's work has been motivated by the urge to save the Yiddish stage and regain the former Yiddish audience. ... In general, it was good for Rumshinsky to enjoy himself ... because as a 'kibitzer,' he was excellent. His soapy theatre anecdotes -- true and imagined -- were irreplaceable. He alone was the embodiment of Yiddish theatre 'business,' and he never laughed at himself with a bitter laugh at the practices of Yiddish theatre."

" ... Rumshinsky the innovator and reformer of the Yiddish theatre operetta in America, who introduced many novelties, new about the methods, tendencies, moods, features and lines, effects and manifestations, had the Yiddish operetta of the Yiddish theatre in America added so much grace, color and paint , playability and musical excellence. ... Rumshinsky knows well that the soul of the instrument, as well as the rare warmth of the human voice. From this synthesis, sources emerged in all of Rumshinsky's creations -- both his song numbers, which number in the hundreds of theatre songs, as well as his overtures and orchestrations for the tens of operettas that he has created in the span of a half-century."

" ... Over a half-century Rumshinsky created pleasure for millions of  Jewish people with his music, which he had written for various operettas for the Yiddish theatre. ... Rumshinsky's music was of the popular sort. His music was not original all the time. Given the task of providing music to order, he had to work fast, and here there could rarely be a word of genuine inspiration. But the positive thing about him was his deep responsibility to Yiddish folk music and especially in the Jewish synagogue singing. A former chorister in the synagogue chorals of his birth city of Vilna, he simply was soaked in Yiddish synagogal singing, and in all special wrinkles and folds of the Yiddish folk melodies. From this source he composed many of the melodies in his innumerable operettas. This does not mean that he wrote folk melodies, as is. Usually he created his own melodies in a genuine, Yiddish folk style, although he did not refrain from copying foreign patterns if he felt that there was something in it that would appeal to the Jewish people.

He was a great professional in his field. A good harmonizer with a special desire for dramatic elements and musical spectacle. He also knows well the work of orchestration and has always intended to have a diverse orchestral ensemble in the offering of his operettas. He also was an outstanding conductor. ... He also was the conductor of the Cantors Association in America. ... The concerts had stimulated him to create a number of choral compositions in a religious style, which belong to his best creations. Mainly what excelled were his [biblical] cantata and text for "Az Yashir," which is dramatic in character. In addition, he was attracted to the theatrical genre in everything he did. ... He could have been much more nuanced if he had not been wasting his creative energy on 'Khai sheh.'

" ... Rumshinsky said that he used to persevere with the 'upper echelons' of his soloists (so that they could be heard at least a little over the 'fortissimo' of his orchestra), until they completely lost their voice. ... For Rumshinsky, the orchestra played the most important role. He used to engage with the theatre patrons, more about a good musician, rather than about his own gaze. Through effects from his orchestra, he was trying to cast a spell on the strongest emotions of the listener. While conducting, he used to look more at the audience than at his singers on stage. ... Rumshinsky was among the number of theatre musicians whose longs used to be sung by folks, almost like Abraham Goldfaden's. ... Making a hit with the audience was his best reward. And he achieved this only through his Yiddish folk music. ... He took from the people and brought it back to the people. Therefore, he may not have been very successful in his attempts to imitate the Broadway jazz style. His medium was still Yiddish music.

... In his accompanying music to 'literary' spectacles (Peretz's 'Three Gifts,' Sholem Aleichem's 'Roaming Stars' and 'Yosele the Nightingale,' M. Livshitz-Schwartz's 'Hershele Ostropoler,' et al, in the Art Theatre), he sought to be 'broadly worldly' with his 'forms.' He never achieved the pathos of Joseph Achron. ... But he gave swing and rhythm to the productions. He succeeded through the 'singability' of his melodies, which he understood with his industrious patience to branch out on ensemble.

" ... In Ramach Avarim a theatrical man, he also served the theatre with his keen sense of the stage. People were happy to listen to Rumshinsky's opinion when reading a play and accepting his advice during stage performances. At the same time, he himself has always been artistically disciplined and has demanded it of others. ... As an honorary member of the Yiddish Actors' Union, a board member in the 'Yiddish Theatrical Alliance,' and Vice-President of the 'Theatre Lexicon' Committee, Rumshinsky is also societally active. Tens of thousands of charities stood under his baton, and thousands of strikers were encouraged at his concerts, under his leadership. ... He spent a lot of time with theatre people. He was always friendly, but he could get upset when someone dared to push him to the limit, especially when his artistic ambition was touched. ... I often find him amazed at concerts, filled with admiration for fine music and great artists."

" ... He counts very much on the understanding of the masses. ... His music is cheerful, sunny, joyful. He also includes in his compositions the rich spring of folk melodies and has strongly developed and extended his orchestrations of every folk melody any hidden possibilities, until the melody Until the melody got a rich expression and the melody became a whole, a perfect one. His great virtue also lies in the fact that he knows all the instruments thoroughly and knows their special qualities and possibilities. That's why his orchestration is always so pleasing to the ear. He also has, thanks to his extensive knowledge of musical literature, freed Yiddish music from its outdated rules and broke all the traditions that hindered its development. ... Leadership and discipline is the duty of every conductor, but Rumshinsky's discipline is incomparable to this, that he is the 'dictator,' not only over the orchestra, but over the entire operetta. Everything must stand to his command, according to his request. The greatest rigor and discipline prevail in his tests, as in his conception. ... For a new offering he works day and night. For him there is no fatigue, but reproach -- He then forgets himself and goes off into worlds of his imagination."

" ... Rumshinsky is not a composer who only made for himself a well-worn path -- he created a way for himself and created a path for [other] composers, who had followed him into the theatre. ... Rumshinsky brought into the operetta a new spirit, a worldly spirit. He introduced a musical atmosphere that exalted the operetta to a sphere of worldly scope. ... With Rumshinsky's first, great operetta, 'The Broken Violin,' the composer was placed on a pedestal to which he had long been eligible. ... For the first time, the Yiddish theatre audience became acquainted with the concept of mixing different colors by combining the sounds of instruments. He didn't just create a new style in music, but he also created a demand for first-class musicians in an orchestra, who over time were drawn to the Yiddish theatre. He created a demand for cursed (geshulte) singers, and our Yiddish actors and actresses had begun to learn how to sing, and it drew musical people to the Yiddish stage. He created a demand for genuine dances, for ballet dance, and for professional choreography to give content to the dance. ... For each operetta he created popular songs that penetrated deep into the hearts of the theatre audience. In the span of the fifty fruitful and productive years, his songs were sung for the big and small, young and old, not only in America, where the songs were born, but in every corner of the earth where Jewish life and the desire for Yiddish breathes. ... When the future historians will note the most important events of our Jewish lives, from our Yiddish theatre music, and of the entire Yiddish theatre, he will be forever marked, together with Abraham Goldfaden, the father of the Yiddish theatre, Jacob Gordin, the founder of the Yiddish drama, also the name of Joseph Rumshinsky, as the builder of the modern Yiddish operetta."