Joachim Stutschewsky

Joachim Stutschewsky was born in 1891 in Romny

Stutschewsky was born in 1891 in Romny, in the Poltava region of the Russian Empire. He came from a family of klezmer musicians, and his father was a clarinetist. He began on the violin at 5 and moved to the cello at 11.

From 1909 to 1912 he studied at the conservatory in Leipzig with Julius Klengel. He then worked in Jena as a cellist and teacher. During World War I he lived in Switzerland and kept playing and teaching.

In 1924 he moved to Vienna and founded a string quartet there with violinist Rudolf Kolisch. In 1938 he moved to Palestine. He worked as inspector of Jewish music in the culture department of the Jewish National Council.

He wrote teaching books on cello technique and composed works for chamber groups, orchestra and voice. His music drew on Jewish folk music, and he also collected Jewish folklore. His book on klezmer musicians was published by the Bialik Institute in 1959.

Stutschewsky died in Tel Aviv in 1982. His archive is kept at the Felicja Blumental music library in Tel Aviv.