Sofia Magid

Sofia Magid (София Давидовна Магид-Экмекчи Sofiya Davidovna Magid-Ékmekchi, c. 1892–1954) was a Soviet Jewish ethnographer and folklorist whose career lasted from the 1920s to the 1950s.

Among the materials she collected were folksongs of Volhynian and Belarusian Jews and among the only prewar field recordings of European klezmer string ensembles, as well as the music of Russians and other ethnic groups of the USSR.

[1] That same year, she prepared a song anthology for publication titled "Folksongs and Instrumental Music of the Ukrainian Jews," but it was never published.

[4] After gaining a high profile for her work, she was given a permanent position in 1934 as a senior research assistant in the Folklore section of the Institute of Anthropology and Ethnography.

[1] After the Nazi invasion of Russia, she was dismissed from her academic position due to budget cuts, and spent time aiding in the defense of Leningrad before being evacuated to Kazakhstan in 1943.

[2] The field recordings collection at the Pushkin House, including those of Magid, were assessed and digitized by a Dutch academic team led by Tjeerd de Graaf from 1999 to 2002.

Zisl Slepovitch, who is originally from Belarus and now based in New York City, included material collected by Magid in his bands Minsker Kapelye and Litvakus.