Joseph Kaminski
Joseph Kaminski was one of the prominent figures in the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. He was invited by Bronislaw Huberman to serve as the the Konzertmeister of the orchestra, a position that he was held since his immigration to Israel until his retirement. He also conducted the orchestra on many occasions, including a concert held
in the Egyptian desert for the soldiers of the Jewish Brigade during World War II. However, the most important event in which Kaminski was present was during the proclamation of the state, when he conducted the members of the orchestra who played the anthem “Hatikva.”
Kaminski was born in Odessa, to a well-known family in the field of theater, and was educated in Warsaw.
His Mother, Ester Rachel Kaminski, who was dubbed the Mother of Yiddish Theatre, was such a beloved figure
that during many of his performances in Israel as part of the string quartet he founded, her son was greeted
with applause in her honor. At the age of 17, he first performed as a soloist with the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra. A few years later he moved to Berlin and later to Vienna to study the violin and composition. Upon his return to Warsaw, He got the position of Konzertmeister in the Warsaw Radio Orchestra and was a member of the Warsaw Quartet. Kaminski claimed it was the rising antisemitism that made him accept Huberman’s proposal to immigrate to Israel.
Kaminski did most of his development as a composer after his arrival to Israel. Like fellow composers of his generation, he saw an importance in creating a new original national style of music, and like many of the composers coming from Europe, he believed that one of the important sources for this would be the musical traditions of the Eastern Orthodox community. Kaminski’s orchestral works were played by the orchestra in its performances in Israel
and abroad, and some of them even won awards.