JACOBI, HANOCH (Heinrich; 1909–1990), Israeli composer, conductor, and string player. Born in Germany, he studied the viola and composition with Paul Hindemith at the Berlin Hochschule für Musik (1927–30). From 1930 to 1933 he played in the Grosses Orchester des Südwestdeutsche Rundfunk. In 1934 he emigrated to Ereẓ Israel and settled in Jerusalem where he joined the Jerusalem String Quartet (1934–9) and the Palestine Music Conservatory (1934–47), later the Jerusalem Academy of music, of which he became the director (1954–1958). In 1959, he moved to Tel Aviv, where he joined the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra as a violist until 1974. After leading the Herzliyah String Quartet, he founded his own quartet. Jacobi was a conservative composer although the influence of his new homeland may be felt in his works. Among his popular compositions which were considered Israeli cultural symbols are the cantata Od Yavo Yom ("The Day Will Come," 1944), the Suite for Strings (1946); Kinnor Hayah le-David ("King David's Lyre") in honor of the birth of the state of Israel (1948); and Judean Hill Dance: Hora Variations (1952). During his later years, he wrote pedagogical compositions for string instruments based on Jewish tunes from Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries. He also wrote three symphonies (1944, 1955, 1960) and other orchestral works such as Partita concertanta (1971), Mutatio I (1975), Variations (1976), and Mutatio II (1977).

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Grove Music Online.

Sources: Encyclopaedia Judaica. © 2007 The Gale Group. All Rights Reserved.

Hanoch Jacobi