Shlomo Yoffe

Shlomo Yoffe Shlomo Yoffe [Joffe], born in Warsaw, 19 May 1909.
In his youth he studied piano, theory and solfege in Samara, Russia (1918-21), and, in 1924 in Warsaw joined the Zionist movement Hashomer Hatza'ir, playing the mandoline, tuba, baritone and clarinet in its folk orchestras. He graduated from the Teachers' Seminarium in Poznan (Poland) in 1928, and in 1930, following agricultural studies in Brno (Czechoslovakia), moved to Palestine, helping to establish a kibbutz in 1932. Only after 1940 did he begin to be involved with music again, at first teaching and arranging music at the kibbutz Beit Alpha.
After a period of concentrated study (1947-53), with Prof. J. Tal and Prof. O. Partos at the New Jerusalem Academy of Music, and privately with A.A. Boskovich, he devoted himself
to composition and teaching at the district conservatory for kibbutzim at Beth-She'an Valley, where he was director until 1973. In the 1950s, under Boskovitch's influence, he used elements of Near Eastern Jewish song, maqam, heterophony and a form of chromatic modality, often in the expression of biblical and Israeli dramas, for example in the cantata "Tales of Mount Gilboa" (953), but also in his Prokofiev-like neo-classical symphonic works. These features remained evident in later works, despite the influence of Schoenbrg in the compositions of the 1960s and the influences that followed a visit to Darmstadt in 1962 and meetings with Lutoslawski and Penderecki. His cantata "Rising Night after Night" (1978), for example, exhibits many contemporary aspects, including extended vocal techniques, clusters and a deformed folk melody, but despite these developments, Joffe always remained, through his teaching, association and biblical roots, a 'kibbutz composer'.

Shlomo Yoffe died in Beit-Alpha, 29 Dec 1995.

Compositions

TitleCategoriesSerial  
A Prayer of the Afflicted (Psalm 102), for solists and mixed choir Choir99 Details
And they shall come again from the land of the enemy Choir78 Details
And Ye Shall Be My People, for mezzo-soprano & chamber orchestra Chamber Orchestra, Voice and Orchestra446 Details
Chamber music for violin solo and ten solo instruments Solo instrument + ensemble26 Details
Concertante for String Orchestra in One Movement Chamber Music / Ensemble, String Quartet145 Details
Concerto for Vibraphone and Strings Solo instrument(s) + Orchestra, String Orchestra228 Details
Concerto for Violin Solo instrument(s) + Orchestra57 Details
Country Poem, for soprano, woodwind quintet & string quartet Chamber Music / Ensemble, Voice and ensemble351 Details
Dainty Maiden, Paraphase of a Yemenite Song, for flute, harp & strings Solo instrument(s) + Orchestra, String Orchestra323 Details
Dialogue for Two Flutes Chamber Music / Ensemble238 Details
Doomed to Annihilation Symphony Orchestra28 Details
Drought, for mixed choir and Oboe Chamber Music / Ensemble82 Details
Emek Landscapes, Symphonic Suite Symphony Orchestra366 Details
Episodes in Two, for Flute and Bassoon Chamber Music / Ensemble77 Details
Fanfare, for Horn and Strings Solo instrument(s) + Orchestra75 Details
Fantasia for Oboe and Chamber Orchestra Solo instrument(s) + Orchestra27 Details
Fantasia, for eight wind instruments and percussion Chamber Music / Ensemble359 Details
Fantasy for Piano Duet, for piano 4 hands Chamber Music / Ensemble165 Details
Fields of the Emek, for Harp Solo305 Details
Five Miniatures, for flute, oboe, clarinet and bassoon Chamber Music / Ensemble100 Details
Five Songs, for alto and piano Chamber Music / Ensemble, Solo voice(s), Vocal101 Details
Four Arabesques, for chamber ensemble Chamber Music / Ensemble288 Details
Four Miniatures, for wind quintet Chamber Music / Ensemble, Wind Quintet289 Details
Four Symphonic Miniatures Symphony Orchestra30 Details
Hassidic Fantasy, for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon & harp Chamber Music / Ensemble322 Details
Im Shachar, pastorala for sopran, clarinet, cello and piano Chamber Music / Ensemble, Solo voice(s)85 Details
Improvisations for Piano Solo33 Details
Israel Sketches, for symphony orchestra Symphony Orchestra428 Details
Lamentation Choir74 Details
Little Suite for Four Flutes Chamber Music / Ensemble112 Click to View Details
Metamorphoses, for piano 4 hands and chamber orchestra Chamber Orchestra, Solo instrument(s) + Orchestra166 Details
Mizmor kaf gimel Choir81 Details
Monologue for Flute Solo35 Details
Monologue for Violin Solo34 Details
Mosaic, for flute solo Solo352 Details
Musica Concertante, seven pieces for Clarinet & Percussion Chamber Music / Ensemble306 Details
Nonetto for Strings (4-2-2-1) String Orchestra111 Details
Oriental Ornaments, for 8 instruments Chamber Music / Ensemble187 Details
Paraphrase on Hassidic Melody, for clarinet and string quartet Chamber Music / Ensemble, String Quartet, Solo instrument + ensemble245 Details
Prayer and Praise, for clarinet (or viola), violin & cello Chamber Music / Ensemble933a Click to View Details
Prayer and Praise, for viola (or clarinet), violin & cello Chamber Music / Ensemble933b Click to View Details
Prayer and Thanksgiving Chamber Music / Ensemble84 Details
Prelude and Dance, for orchestra Symphony Orchestra249 Details
Quartet, for 2 flutes, cello & piano, Chamber Music / Ensemble262 Details
Raphsody on Jewish Themes for Piano and Orchestra Solo instrument(s) + Orchestra31 Details
Romance for Solo Flute Solo79 Details
Shake thyself from the dust Chamber Music / Ensemble83 Details
Sinfonietta da camera, for orchestra Chamber Orchestra324 Details
String Quartet No.1 Chamber Music / Ensemble, String Quartet285 Details
String Quartet No.3 String Quartet113 Details
Suite on Yemenite Themes, for oboe and string quartet Chamber Music / Ensemble, Solo instrument + ensemble931b Details
Suite on Yemenite Themes, for oboe or clarinet and String Quartet Chamber Music / Ensemble, String Quartet, Solo instrument + ensemble931a Details
Suite on Yemenite Themes, for oboe or clarinet and strings Solo instrument(s) + Orchestra, String Orchestra932 Details
Symphonic Etudes Symphony Orchestra32 Details
The Beautiful City, for symphony orchestra Symphony Orchestra499 Details
The lamemtation of David Choir80 Details
Thoughts, for piano Solo311 Details
Three Episodes for Symphony Orchestra Symphony Orchestra44 Details
Three Etudes, for flute & clarinet Chamber Music / Ensemble310 Details
Three Pieces for String Quartet Chamber Music / Ensemble, String Quartet328 Details
Three Symphonic Movements Symphony Orchestra29 Details
Toccata, for piano Solo248 Details
Two Songs for Alto & Piano Chamber Music / Ensemble, Solo voice(s)312 Details
With the Dissolution of Yearning, for Choir and Piano Choir76 Details