Muni Amariglio

Moni Amarilio was born in 1932 in Skopje, Yugoslavia (now the capital of Macedonia). At the age of six, he began studying violin. With the German invasion of Yugoslavia in the spring of 1941, during World War II, his family  fled to Albania under the occupation of Italy, where they survived hiding in the country. After the war the family returned to Yugoslavia, then moved to Italy, and in January 1948 they emigrated to Chile and settled in the capital Santiago, where he joined the movement “Hashomer Hatzair”. By that time he already knew how to play the accordion, and together with studying violin, began to study composition and write classical music works. 

During this period, he appeared with his friend Leon Schidlovsky (himself a composer and later a professor at the Rubin Academy of Music in Tel Aviv) playing violin with Schidlovsky on piano, and sometimes accompanied by choirs and dancers, in order to raise funds for Zionist enterprises. In May 1952 he immigrated to Israel with the “Hashomer Hatzair” group from Chile, to Kibbutz Merhavia. Eight months later, the group joined Kibbutz Dvir in the northern Negev, which was established in 1951. He was sent by the kibbutz to study composition and music at Oranim with Abel Ehrlich, and later studied music at the Odon Partos at the Music Academy in Tel Aviv.

After completing his studies at the academy, he spent 21 years as a music teacher at Kibbutz Ein Carmel. He also taught military bands and choirs and worked as a musical arranger.

In his first years in Israel Amarilio wrote classics – rhapsodies for violin, Monologues for flute and for cello, concerto and suites for orchestra. Some of his works were performed and recorded by Kol Yisrael. In 1961 he began to compose Hebrew songs. The first of these was “Eli Ganim” by Yehuda Halevi, performed by Shimon Bar and Nechama Hendel at the second song festival. His other songs were performed at festivals by the greatest performers, including Yehoram Gaon, Shoshana Damari, Rivka Zohar, Sassi Keshet, Dorit Reuveni, Shlomo Artzi and others. The song “Rakefet”, composed and adapted for the words of Thelma Eligon Rose, won first place in the song festival 1977, performed by Ruchama Raz.

In 1969 he composed for Chava Alberstein’s album from the poems of Rachel the songs “Shai”, “Yonatan” and “Ganei Nettecha”. In the 1970s he worked extensively with military bands and created some of their greatest hits.

Amarillo also wrote melodies for children’s songs, including “Beyond the Sea”, “Flower of a Flowerpot” (both for the words of Haim Nachman Bialik), “Itach” (lyrics: Dalia Rabikovitch ) – 1976, some of the songs of Chava Alberstein’s album “Tikiliton” from 1977 and all the songs of the album “Lullaby”, 1981 by Yehoram Gaon. Amarillo also composed songs for the Children’s Poetry Festival in 1972. In 1971 he composed the music for the film “Fiska in Reserves” and in 1972 he composed the music for the film “Nachtshe and the General”.

In 1975-1978 he worked as the director of music of children’s television series “Tlfla”, and in 2001 composed and arranged for the music series “Capillary Nim” on the Children’s Channel “Hop!”.

In 1996, he concentrated on the composition on the poetry of Natan Zach, Yehuda Amichai, Dalia Rabikovitch and Leah Goldberg, whose poems had already been set to music in the past, and the most famous of which is “In the Land of My Love”. Since the 1990s Moni Amarilio has often collaborated with children’s writer Mirik Snir. This collaboration included, among other things, the song for toddlers “I Want a Hug” performed by Yehudit Ravitz.

In 2004 Amarillo appeared in a new performance of his songs called “Moni and Friends”, performed by Deganit Dado .

Amarilio’s archives are kept at the Music Center of the National Library .

 Information is taked from Wikipedia.