Aaron Avshalomov (russian: Ааро́н Авшало́мов; 11 November 1894 – 16 April 1965) was a Russian-born Jewish

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

. His work included several ballets, two operas, a violin concerto, four symphonies and a flute concerto.

Early life

Born into a

Mountain Jew Mountain Jews or Caucasus Jews also known as Juhuro, Juvuro, Juhuri, Juwuri, Juhurim, Kavkazi Jews or Gorsky Jews ( he, יהודי קווקז ''Yehudey Kavkaz'' or ''Yehudey he-Harim''; russian: Горские евреи, translit=Gorskie Yevrei ...

ish family in Nikolayevsk-on-Amur, Russia, Avshalomov was sent for medical studies to

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

. After the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...

in 1917, which made further studies in Europe impossible, his family sent him to the United States.

Career

Less than a year later, he chose to move to China, where he entered the world of

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

's academia and, together with other Jewish musicians, who had fled the Russian

pogroms A pogrom () is a violent riot incited with the aim of massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe 19th- and 20th-century attacks on Jews in the Russian ...

and

revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

, trained a number of young Chinese musicians in classical music, who in turn became leading musicians in contemporary China. Between 1918 and 1947, he worked to create a synthesis of Chinese musical elements and Western techniques of orchestral composition. Among the first works of this type that he created was the opera ''Kuan Yin'', which premiered in Peking in 1925. Avshalomov made his main livelihood at bookstores and libraries. He was the head librarian of the Shanghai Municipal Library for 15 years from 1928 to 1943. He conducted the

Shanghai Municipal Orchestra The Shanghai Symphony Orchestra () is a symphony orchestra in Shanghai, China. Its music director is Yu Long. Founded in 1879, the SSO is the oldest Chinese symphony orchestra. Originally, it was known as the Shanghai Public Band, expanding in ...

from 1943 to 1946. In 1947, he moved to the United States, where he already had spent three years in the mid-1920s.

Compositions

* Kuan Yin (opera named after

Guanyin Guanyin () is a Bodhisattva associated with compassion. She is the East Asian representation of Avalokiteśvara ( sa, अवलोकितेश्वर) and has been adopted by other Eastern religions, including Chinese folk religion. She ...

, the bodhisattva of compassion; premiered in Peking in 1925) * The Twilight Hour of Yan Kuei Fei (opera, 1933), presumably after the 1923 eponymous book by A. E. Grantham. * The Great Wall (opera, 1933–41), based on the legend of Lady Meng Jiang. * Piano Concerto in G on Chinese Themes and Rhythms (1935) * Flute Concerto * Violin Concerto * Symphony No. 1 * Symphony No. 2 (1949, commissioned by

Serge Koussevitzky Sergei Alexandrovich KoussevitzkyKoussevitzky's original Russian forename is usually transliterated into English as either "Sergei" or "Sergey"; however, he himself adopted the French spelling "Serge", using it in his signature. (SeThe Koussevit ...

, premiered by the Cincinnati Sym, conducted by Thor Johnson) * Symphony No. 3 (1953, "To the Memory of Serge and Natalie Koussevitzky") * Dream of Wei Lin (1949) * Soul of the Ch'in *

Hutongs ''Hutong'' () are a type of narrow street or alley commonly associated with northern Chinese cities, especially Beijing. In Beijing, hutongs are alleys formed by lines of ''siheyuan'', traditional courtyard residences. Many neighbourhoods wer ...

of Peking * Four Biblical Tableaux (Queen Esther's Prayer, Rebecca by the Well, Ruth and Naomi, Processional)

Family

While living in San Francisco, he married a fellow Russian émigré in San Francisco. In 1919, his son, Jacob Avshalomov was born, who became a composer and conductor, too.

Death

He died in New York City on April 16, 1965.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Avshalomov, Aaron 1894 births 1965 deaths 20th-century composers 20th-century Russian male musicians 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians Russian composers Russian male composers Russian Jews American male composers American people of Mountain Jewish descent American people of Russian-Jewish descent Emigrants from the Russian Empire to China Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States Jewish Chinese history People from Nikolayevsk-on-Amur