Sasha Argov

Alexander "Sasha" Argov (סשה ארגוב, born Alexander Abramovich; Moscow, 26 October 1914 – Tel Aviv, 27 September 1995 ) was a prominent Israeli composer.

Life and career
Argov was born Alexander Abramovich in Moscow, Russia in 1914; later changing his last name to its Hebrew version, Argov, in 1946. His father was a dentist and his mother a concert pianist. He began studying the piano with his mother at the age of three, and at the age of six he began to compose music by ear which his mother transcribed into music notation for him. He had no formal education in music outside of his lessons with his mother.

He migrated to British Palestine from Russia in 1934 with his parents. He never made a living with his music, working first as a bank clerk and later owning and operating a bookshop.

Argov composed many popular songs, producing approximately 1,200 works. Among them were "Hareut" and songs for the Israel Defense Forces, film, and theater. In 1948 he published Ha’Chizbatron, a collection of his songs written for the entertainment of Israeli troupes. He collaborated with Chaim Hefer and Matti Caspi, two of whose albums feature melodies written exclusively by Argov. He also composed several film scores and musicals for the stage; of which the most successful was Shlomo hamelech ve’Shalmai hansandlar (‘King Solomon and the Cobbler’) which premiered in 1964. In 1988, he was awarded the Israel Prize in Hebrew song.

Dramatic works

 * Rak lo be’Shabat (film score, 1964)
 * Shlomo hamelech ve’Shalmai hasandlar (musical, 1964)
 * Harpatka bakirkas (children’s play with music, 1965)
 * Androceles ve’ha’arie (children’s play with music, 1966)
 * Ester hamalka (musical, 1966)
 * Hu halach basadot (film score, 1967)
 * Chagigat kaiz (musical, 1972)
 * Doda Klara (film score, 1977)

commemoration
Sasha Argov died in 1995, at the age of 80. He was buried in Yarkon cemetery.

His archive is kept in the Israel National Library.

Streets were named after him in several cities in Israel: in Tel Aviv, Rishon Lezion, Ra'anana, Kfar Saba, Ramla, and in Netivot.

In 2009, Israel Post issued a series of 12 stamps on "Israeli Music"; In this series, a stamp was dedicated to the memory of Sasha Argov.