Aronson (Aronsohn) (stage name Arnov) Lev Zakharovich (7.02.1912, Menshen-Glavakh, Germany – 12.11.1988, Dallas, USA) – cellist, concertmaster, and educator; professor and former concentration camp prisoner.
Lev Aronson’s parents returned to Riga from Germany when he was three weeks old. Between 1914 and 1920, the family was evacuated to Voronezh. In 1920, they returned to Riga. From 1930, Aronsohn studied law at the University of Berlin while simultaneously attending the Berlin Conservatory. He graduated in 1932, studying under Julius Klengel, later Alfred Glenn and Gregor Piatigorsky. During this time, he played in a string quartet in Berlin and adopted the stage name L. Arnov.
In 1933, Lev Aronson returned to Latvia and served in the Latvian army in 1934. In 1938, he graduated from the Latvian State Conservatory. He performed as a soloist in various concert venues in Riga, including the Jewish Theatre (1937) and Riga Radiophone, as well as in concert halls in Jūrmala. During the summers of 1937–1938, he was principal cellist in the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra.
Aronsohn toured extensively as a soloist. Between 1937 and 1939, he performed frequently in Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Finland, Norway, Belgium, and France. He recorded several records at the Riga Bellaccord Studio in the 1930s.
WWII and Post-War Life
From 1941 to 1945, Aronson was imprisoned in the Kaiserwald, Stutthof, Burggraeben, and Lauenburg concentration camps. He was liberated from Lauenburg on April 10, 1945, but was subsequently placed in a Soviet labor camp in Germany, from which he later escaped. His first post-war cello was a gift from Gregor Piatigorsky.
In April 1948, Aronson emigrated to the United States and became a U.S. citizen in 1953. He initially lived in New York City, later relocating to Dallas, where he played as principal cellist in the Dallas Symphony Orchestra until 1967 and taught at the Southern Methodist Institute (as a professor). During the 1970s–1980s, he taught at Baylor University before returning to Dallas in 1980.
Aronsohn was a highly regarded music educator. His students included Lynn Harrell, Ralph Kirshbaum, Daniel Sharp, Christopher Dvorak, and Carter Adkins. He played a Goffriller cello (1729) and made numerous recordings with Odeon and various U.S. studios.
Lev Aronsohn was passionate about drawing and was fluent in nine languages: German, Latvian, Russian, English, French, Italian, Polish, Yiddish, and Hebrew. He worked tirelessly, often referring to himself as a “musoholic”.
References:
Segodnya vecherom, 10.08.1932
Rīts, 1935, No. 114
Dallas Times
Gerald Sunday, January 14, 1979
Dallas Morning News, November 1988