Shaul Berezovsky

Shaul Berezovsky was born in 1908 in Hrodna

Berezovsky was born on 5 June 1908 in Grodno, then in the Russian Empire. His family was musical: his grandfather was a cantor and his father, Shraga-Fayvl, was a choir director and music teacher. His father taught him first, and in 1916 he began piano lessons in Grodno.

From 1926 to 1929 he studied at the Warsaw Conservatory. He then moved to Białystok, where he accompanied Yiddish theater, led an orchestra and wrote music for theater troupes. Before World War II he was drafted into the Polish army and formed a string ensemble there.

During the war he worked in the Soviet Union with Shimon Dzigan and Israel Shumacher in a state troupe. After the two were arrested, he became accompanist and arranger for Anna Guzik. He also married Regina Goldberg in this period.

After the war he settled in Łódź. He composed for Ida Kamińska's Yiddish theater and for films, and he led choirs. He was allowed to emigrate to Israel in 1957, where he worked in Yiddish and Hebrew theater and conducted orchestras.

He died in Tel Aviv on 2 April 1975. A collection of his choral arrangements, Lider-bukh, was published after his death.