Sasha Argov

Alexander "Sasha" Argov (Hebrew: סשה ארגוב‎, born Alexander Abramovich; 1914 – September 27, 1995) was a prominent Israeli composer.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

Early life

Argov was born in Moscow. He immigrated to Palestine from Russia in 1934 with his parents.^[5][7]

Music career

He started composing at the age of five, began his formal music training one year later, and composed hundreds of popular songs.^[7][8][9] Among them were songs for the Israel Defense Forces, film, and theater.^{[8][10][11][12]}

In Palestine, he first worked in a bank.^[13] He later wrote lyrics for private celebrations, and composed for the Palmach and IDF troupes, including one of his most famous songs, “Friendship.”^[13] He wrote for several popular singing groups, and set many poems to music, including works of Leah Goldberg and Yehuda Amichai.^[13]

Argov's music was influenced by Russian and to a smaller extent French music, but was dominated by Hebrew rhythms and harmony.^[13] He collaborated with Chaim Hefer and Matti Caspi, two of whose albums feature exclusively lyrics written by Argov.^[13]

In 1988, he was awarded the Israel Prize in Hebrew song.^[14][8][13]

In 2005, he was voted the 136th-greatest Israeli of all time, in a poll by the Israeli news website Ynet to determine whom the general public considered the 200 Greatest Israelis.^[15]

See also

• List of Israel Prize recipients

References