Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 days ago
Isaac Roginsky, clarinet
Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra, cond. Nikolai Rabinovich
Born into a Jewish family in the Russian town of Starodub, Aleksandr (or Alexander) Manevich (Александр Маневич; 1908-1976), studied composition in Leningrad with Maximilian Steinberg and in Moscow with Anatoly Alexandrov, also taking lessons with Mikhail Gnesin and fellow Steinberg student Dmitri Shostakovich. Little information is available about Manevich either in English or Russian, to the point where I cannot locate a photo of him; also a pianist who performed as a vocal accompanist in the 1930s, he immigrated to Israel in 1973.
While there are many cases of lesser-known composers having a few frequently played pieces for a particular instrument, Manevich's is particularly strange. The vast majority of his works, including concertos for organ and French horn, Five Jewish Folk Songs for orchestra, the opera Anna Karenina, a requiem, and many choral works - seem to have languished in near-complete obscurity, but the publication of his clarinet works outside of the Soviet Union has helped them surprisingly reach the standard repertoire. I am very glad for that quirk of fate, because this tuneful concerto first published in 1966, very much influenced by the composer's religious and cultural background, is well worth hearing!
Isaac Roginsky, clarinet
Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra, cond. Nikolai Rabinovich
Born into a Jewish family in the Russian town of Starodub, Aleksandr (or Alexander) Manevich (Александр Маневич; 1908-1976), studied composition in Leningrad with Maximilian Steinberg and in Moscow with Anatoly Alexandrov, also taking lessons with Mikhail Gnesin and fellow Steinberg student Dmitri Shostakovich. Little information is available about Manevich either in English or Russian, to the point where I cannot locate a photo of him; also a pianist who performed as a vocal accompanist in the 1930s, he immigrated to Israel in 1973.
While there are many cases of lesser-known composers having a few frequently played pieces for a particular instrument, Manevich's is particularly strange. The vast majority of his works, including concertos for organ and French horn, Five Jewish Folk Songs for orchestra, the opera Anna Karenina, a requiem, and many choral works - seem to have languished in near-complete obscurity, but the publication of his clarinet works outside of the Soviet Union has helped them surprisingly reach the standard repertoire. I am very glad for that quirk of fate, because this tuneful concerto first published in 1966, very much influenced by the composer's religious and cultural background, is well worth hearing!
