Michael Taube

Michael Taube was born in 1890 in Łódź

Michael Taube was born in 1890 in Łódź to a musical family. His father, a musician, began teaching him violin at age 7, and he later added piano, trumpet, cello, viola and double bass. He played in his father's orchestra and began performing as a pianist at 15.

In 1910 he moved to Germany and in 1911 began studying at the Leipzig Conservatory. He later studied piano, composition and orchestration in Cologne. During World War I he conducted in Bad Godesberg and Bonn, and after the war he studied conducting with Hermann Abendroth.

In 1923 he joined the Berlin Opera as a répétiteur and worked with Bruno Walter. In 1926 he founded a chamber orchestra and choir in Berlin. After the Nazis came to power, he founded and conducted the orchestra of the Jewish Cultural League in Berlin.

He first came to the Land of Israel in 1934 for a series of concerts and settled in Tel Aviv in 1935. With his wife Else Juelich-Taube he opened the Michael Taube Conservatory in 1936. He conducted the Palestine Orchestra and, during World War II, shared its concerts with Georg Singer.

In 1955 he founded the Ramat Gan Chamber Orchestra, and in 1957 he conducted the Berlin Philharmonic. His wife Else died in 1964, and he later married Rachel. He died in 1972 and was buried in Kiryat Shaul cemetery.