Mordecai Seter

Mordecai Seter (Hebrew: מרדכי סתר‎, b. February 26, 1916 – d.August 8, 1994) was a Russian-born Israeli composer.

Biography

Seter was born Mordecai Starominsky in Novorossiysk, Russia, in 1916 and emigrated with his family to Mandate Palestine in 1926.^[1]

He learned to play the piano from the age of seven in Russia, and continued with his lessons and studies in Tel Aviv. In 1937, he went to Paris, France, and studied composition at the Ecole Normal de Musique with composer Paul Dukas and with the great teacher Nadia Boulanger.^[1] In 1937, he returned to Israel and began composing music, formulating his unique style.

From 1951 until his retirement in 1985, Seter was one of the most influential teachers at the Rubin Academy of Tel Aviv University (previously the Israel Conservatory). His students included composers Tzvi Avni, Arie Shapira, Nurit Hirsh and the conductor Gary Bertini.

Awards

He has won a number of awards including the following:

• In 1965, Seter was awarded the Israel Prize for music.^[2]
• In 1983, he won the ACUM Prize, for his lifetime achievements.

Selected works

• Sabbath Cantata for solo, chorus and string orchestra (1940)
• The Four Festive Songs (1946)
• Ricercar, for violin, viola violoncello and string ensemble (1956)
• Midnight Vigil; String Quartet No. 1 (1958–1961)
• The Legend of Judith, a ballet commissioned for Martha Graham (1962)
• Jephtah's Daughter (1965)

See also

• List of Israel Prize recipients

References

External links

• The National Library of Israel - Mordechai Seter