Friedmann, Aron

views updated

FRIEDMANN, ARON

FRIEDMANN, ARON (1855–1936), German ḥazzan. Born in Szaki, Lithuania, Friedmann studied in Berlin and in 1882 was appointed chief ḥazzan of the Old Synagogue of the Berlin community, a post he held until 1923. He received the title of Koeniglicher Musikdirektor, Royal Academy of Art, Berlin, 1907. In 1901, he published Shir li-Shelomoh, a collection of cantorial music in traditional style for the prayers of the year. He also wrote Der synagogale Gesang (1904) and Lebensbilder beruehmter Kantoren (3 vols., 1918–27), containing biographies of 19th-century ḥazzanim.