Sasha Argov

Sasha Argov was born in 1914 in Moscow

Argov was born Alexander Abramovich in Moscow on 26 October 1914. His father was a dentist and his mother was a concert pianist. He learned piano from his mother and began composing as a child, with no other formal music training.

In 1934 he moved to the Land of Israel with his parents. He did not earn his living from music. He worked as a bank cashier from 1935 to 1957 and later at a Russian bookshop from 1959 to 1980, composing in the evenings.

During the War of Independence he wrote songs for the Palmach troupe Chizbatron, including "Hareut". He later wrote for theaters, radio and films, and for army troupes such as the Nahal troupe. He set texts by Chaim Hefer, Nathan Alterman and others to music.

In 1964 he composed the musical "King Solomon and the Cobbler" with Alterman. He wrote more than 1,200 songs and won the Israel Prize for Hebrew song in 1988. He died on 27 September 1995 and was buried in Yarkon cemetery.