Joseph Cherniavsky

Joseph Cherniavsky (Yiddish: יוסף טשערניאַװסקי) (c. 1890-1959) was a Jewish American cellist, theatre and film composer, orchestra director, and recording artist.

[2] He then obtained a government scholarship and traveled to study at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory under such figures as Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Alexander Glazunov.

[3][2] He graduated in 1911 with a gold medal as a Cellist and Conductor and then went to Leipzig where he finished his studies under Julius Klengel.

[2] Upon finishing his studies in 1914 he returned to Saint Petersburg and rejoined the ensemble, played in some Russian orchestras, and began to compose.

[5] They toured Eastern Russia, China, and the Dutch East Indies, finally ending up in the United States in August 1919.

[2][5] The ensemble stayed at least two years in the United States, performing at the congress of the American Zionist Federation in September 1919 and later at Carnegie Hall and various other venues.

[6] However, rather than continue with their stated goal of fundraising for a artistic centre in Mandate Palestine, gradually the group broke apart, and at least three of its members (Cherniavsky, Mestechkin and Bellison) settled in the US and started music careers there.

[7][2] His encounter with Schwartz led him to enter the world of the Yiddish Theatre more prominently as a composer and arranger.

[8] Famous klezmers who played in this orchestra included Naftule Brandwein, Dave Tarras and Shloimke Beckerman.

[16] In late 1927 he once again tried to launch a vaudeville tour, this time under the name Cherniavsky and his Orientals, specializing in "Chassidic and Caucasian music".

[29] In 1949 Cherniavsky spent time in Johannesburg, South Africa where he was musical director for a production of Oklahoma!

Joseph's wife was a pianist named Lara (née Lieberman) was born in Nikolaev, where they were married in June 1917.

[1][31][32][33] Sally would go on to become a professional photographer and editor of books of art about women's everyday lives in history, while William became a television scriptwriter in Hollywood.