Lev Moiseyevich Abeliovich
1912 - 1985
Lithuanian/Polish/Belarusian
Summary
Lev Moiseyevich Abeliovich (1912–1985) was a Polish-Jewish-Belarusian composer whose life and work vividly reflect the tragic and heroic chapters of the 20th century. Born into a Jewish family in Vilna (now Vilnius, Lithuania), he studied at the Warsaw Conservatory, where he shared a class with Mieczysław Weinberg – a friendship and artistic bond that lasted throughout their lives.
When World War II began in 1939, Abeliovich and Weinberg fled the Holocaust eastward and found refuge in Minsk. There, at the Belarusian State Conservatory, they completed their studies in Vasily Zolotaryov’s composition class, receiving their diplomas on June 21, 1941 — just one day before Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Once again, Abeliovich had to flee — this time to escape Nazi persecution.
He was evacuated deeper into the Soviet Union and then continued his studies at the Moscow Conservatory with Nikolai Myaskovsky and came to the nearest circle of Dmitry Shostakovich. However, after the murder of Solomon Mikhoels and the onset of anti-Semitic purges targeting Jewish intellectuals in the USSR, Abeliovich made the difficult decision to leave Moscow and return to Minsk — a choice that may have spared him the fate of Weinberg, who was arrested in 1953. Abeliovich remained in Minsk for the rest of his life, becoming a central figure in Belarusian musical life and a bridge between Eastern European, Jewish, and Soviet traditions.
Abeliovich was not only a witness to history, but also an active participant in its defining events. His all family perished in the ghetto, and he himself became a refugee, losing his homeland and loved ones — yet preserving dignity, depth, and individuality in his art. His music is a testimony to what he endured: filled with hidden symbols, allusions, and themes of memory, expressing both sorrow and resilience. Like many of his contemporaries, he had to disguise direct references to the Holocaust, dedicating works instead to “the victims of fascism” or “the heroes of the Great Patriotic War.”
Biography
Lev Moiseyevich Abeliovich (1912–1985) was a Polish-Jewish-Belarusian composer whose life and work vividly reflect the tragic and heroic chapters of the 20th century. Born into a Jewish family in Vilna (now Vilnius, Lithuania), he studied at the Warsaw Conservatory, where he shared a class with Mieczysław Weinberg – a friendship and artistic bond that lasted throughout their lives.
When World War II began in 1939, Abeliovich and Weinberg fled the Holocaust eastward and found refuge in Minsk. There, at the Belarusian State Conservatory, they completed their studies in Vasily Zolotaryov’s composition class, receiving their diplomas on June 21, 1941 — just one day before Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Once again, Abeliovich had to flee — this time to escape Nazi persecution.
He was evacuated deeper into the Soviet Union and then continued his studies at the Moscow Conservatory with Nikolai Myaskovsky and came to the nearest circle of Dmitry Shostakovich. However, after the murder of Solomon Mikhoels and the onset of anti-Semitic purges targeting Jewish intellectuals in the USSR, Abeliovich made the difficult decision to leave Moscow and return to Minsk — a choice that may have spared him the fate of Weinberg, who was arrested in 1953. Abeliovich remained in Minsk for the rest of his life, becoming a central figure in Belarusian musical life and a bridge between Eastern European, Jewish, and Soviet traditions.
Abeliovich was not only a witness to history, but also an active participant in its defining events. His all family perished in the ghetto, and he himself became a refugee, losing his homeland and loved ones — yet preserving dignity, depth, and individuality in his art. His music is a testimony to what he endured: filled with hidden symbols, allusions, and themes of memory, expressing both sorrow and resilience. Like many of his contemporaries, he had to disguise direct references to the Holocaust, dedicating works instead to “the victims of fascism” or “the heroes of the Great Patriotic War.”
His legacy includes four symphonies, piano sonatas, a piano concerto, song cycles in Russian, Belarusian, Yiddish, and Polish, as well as a wealth of chamber music. His compositions combine lyrical expressiveness, dramatic tension, and structural clarity — a reflection of his teachers' influence, yet unmistakably the voice of a man shaped by the tragedies of his time.
Abeliovich had deep personal and artistic ties to Mieczysław Weinberg and Dmitri Shostakovich. He and Weinberg shared not only similar life experiences — flight, education, personal loss — but also profound mutual respect. Weinberg dedicated his Third Piano Sonata (1946) to Abeliovich, who in turn dedicated his 1972 piano cycle Frescoes to Weinberg. The two often spoke Polish — their native tongue — and remained close friends until the end of their lives.
Today, Abeliovich’s work is experiencing a well-deserved revival. Thanks to the research and commitment of acclaimed pianist and conductor Rostislav Krimer, who has launched a dedicated performance and research project around his legacy, Abeliovich’s collected works will be published for the first time in by Edition Peters. This marks not only an important step in preserving the memory of a great composer but also a true discovery for Western musical culture, where Abeliovich’s name is still largely unknown.
The musical legacy of Lev Abeliovich is not merely a chapter of Eastern European history — it is a living bridge between East and West, between a tragic past and a resonant present.