Abel Ehrlich was born in Cranz, East Prussia, in 1915. He studied violin and began composing as a child. In 1934 he fled from Nazi Germany to Yugoslavia and pursued music studies in Zagreb. As a jew, he was forced to leave Yugoslavia and immigrated to Israel after a short stay in Albania. In Israel he continued his studies at the Eretz-Israel Conservatory in Jerusalem – his violin teachers were Emil Hauser and Tzvi Rothenberg and his composition teacher was Prof. Shlomo Rosovsky.
His educational activities include teaching at various institutes such as the Israel Conservatory, the Rubin Academy of Music and Dance, Jerusalem; the Rubin Academy of Music, Tel Aviv; Bar-Ilan University and the Oranim College.
His interest in Arab and Eastern Music and later, after attending the Darmstadt Summer Courses, in adapting serial methods in his own way, did not force national or folkloric disguise. The simplicity and directness in the way he presents his ideas shows his respect for the act of creation and requires a careful listening.
Ehrlich was awarded the ACUM Prize (8 times), the Liberson Prize (3 times) and the Prime Minister’s Prize for Israeli Composers. In 1972 was awarded a prize of the Alte Kirche Foundation, Boswil, Switzerland, for his work ARPMUSIC. Abel Ehrlich was, in 1997, recepient of the Israel Prize for Music.
Abel Ehrlich died in Tel Aviv on October 30th, 2003.
Interview from magazine “Ozna’aim la muzica” 2001
Ehud Manor, one of the prominent song-writers in Israel, was born in 1941, in Binyamina, of which he wrote (“Days of Binyamina”). His father, Israel Winer, died when Ehud was 15 years old.
In 1962 he started working in Kol-Israel as a musical editor and host in many programs. He met his wife, the singer Ofra Fux, while he studied in New York. They had three children: Liby, Yehuda and Galy. Ehud wrote a song for each of his children. Ehud Manor, recipient of Israel Prize, 1998, was Israel’s most prolific song writer. Many of his songs are already considered classics.
His brother Yehuda was killed during the war of attrition. The song “My Young Brother Yehuda” was written in his memory.
Ehud Manor wrote the words to “Dear Darkness” to a tune by the brothers Aviv and Aric Livnat. The song was recorded in their first disk, “The One You Don’t See.”
Manor wrote 1250 songs in Hebrew and translated 620 songs from other languages.
He died at the age of 64.
A heart of flowers
Oren Pravda, the flower artist, a creative sculptor and gifted designer, passed away after a long struggle with cancer. Oren was involved in the Creation Seeds of the Raz-Ram Foundations, especially in the science and arts project, which he supported through its creation phases, but in the end couldn’t participate due to his failing health.
Oren’s spirit, a spirit of creation, openness, abundant kindness, the forceful linking of creativity, intuition, rational and moral judgment, and the memory of his unique personality, his gaze, smile and voice, still linger with all his friends, and will stay with them forever.
The photographs attached reveal the breadth of his artistic work. Apart from stage design for grand special occasions Oren was a sculptor and his work was shown in various places. He had a special connection to the world of flowers. Seeing the realm of Flora through creative eyes and combining it within a conceptual frame of artistic and utilitarian design – that was Oren’s art and his craft. Oren chose an academic route that took him to the fields of biology, and later he decided to enrich that connection to the realm of flora through an imaginative and creative approach to design.
His creative spirit, so full of love and art, will always be
with us.
Press to see the flash photo album
