Re: Rosowsky, Zeitlin, Achron, Gnessin

[Dan Kazez <KAZEZ...>]

re:
>These were musicians and composers in Palestine in the 1920's, =
>
>contemporaries of Joel Engel.  Their music was published by the Juwal =
>publishing house, run by Engel.  I have acquired some photocopies of =
>chamber music written by these composers: "Fantastischer Tanz" for piano =
>trio by Rosowsky, "Reb Nachman's Niggun" by Zeitlin for string quartet =
>or quintet, "Elegy" by Achron and "Variations" by Gnessin, both for =
>string quartet (the title page says "klei shir kashtiim").
>
>Does anyone have any information about these composers?  Anything would =
>be of interest.  Thanks,
>
>Yoel Epstein

My reading reveals...

   Joseph Achron (1886P1943), a violin prodigy born in 
   Lithuania, toured Russia near the age of ten. He is 
   said to have composed his first melody at the age of 
   two, on a violin made by his father. In 1911, he 
   co-founded the Society for Jewish Folk Music, in Petrograd 
   (Leningrad). On his way to Hollywood (1934), he spent 
   time in Berlin, Palestine, and New York (1925). Turning 
   later to composing, his music is a mixture of light and 
   serious works.  According to Artur Holde:   "[A]s few 
   musicians, he knew how to achieve a new convincing 
   unity of the primary sources of Jewish music and the 
   basic characteristics of his own personality."


   Son of a renowned rabbi and a talented singer, Michael 
   Gnessin (1883P1957) worked as composer, teacher, 
   writer, and publisher of music. He studied with Nikolai 
   Rimsky-Korsakov. Later, as professor of composition at 
   the Moscow Conservatory, he served as head of the 
   "studios for the development of the national musics of 
   the Soviet peoples." One of the founders of the Society 
   of Jewish Folk Music (1908), Gnessin himself indicated 
   that his musical style is based on tunes of his 
   maternal grandfather, the synagogue tradition, and 
   melodies he collected in Palestine (1921).

Dan
  +----------------------------------------------------------+
    Daniel Kazez, Associate Professor of Music
    Wittenberg University, Springfield, Ohio 45501-0720  USA
    tel 937-327-7354  fax 937-327-6340  kazez (at) wittenberg(dot)edu
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