Paul Ben-Haim

Paul Ben-Haim (1897-1984) is one of the founding fathers of Israeli music. Ben-Haim was born in Munich as Paul Frankenburger and studied piano and composition at his home town’s conservatory from 1915. In 1920, he was appointed répétiteur at the Munich opera, where he assisted Bruno Walter and Hans Knappertsbusch. In 1924, he became Kapellmeister in Augsburg, where he was dismissed for anti-Semitic reasons in 1931. Hitler’s seizure of power became the decisive reason for him to leave Germany. In June 1933, he migrated to Israel, where he adopted the name of Ben-Haim. Here, he initially made a name for himself as a practising musician, e.g. as arranger and accompanist of the Yemenite singer Bracha Zephiras. In Israel, Ben-Haim continued the work that has been interrupted by his emigration. From 1946, he taught theory of music and composition in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and greatly influenced the younger generation of Israeli musicians. Stylistically conservative, he pursued the aim of a national Israeli style beyond all dogmatic solidification. Ben-Haim was a prolific composer who created around 260 works. His music has been performed by famous artists including Yehudi Menuhin, for whom he wrote a distinguished sonata for solo violin, and Leonard Bernstein.

As of April 2023