DAUS, AVRAHAM

DAUS, AVRAHAM (1902–1974), Israeli composer. Born in Berlin, he immigrated to Ereẓ Israel in 1936. Until 1940 he lived in Tel Aviv, and his overture to the Sea-Gate Cantata, performed by the then Palestine Orchestra, was one of the first local works performed by the "Philharmonic." From 1940 to 1964 Daus was a member of kibbutz Ḥefẓi-Bah, working as music teacher, composer, and choir conductor, but he eventually returned to Tel Aviv. Daus remained essentially European in style. When he returned to writing in dodecaphonic technique, his music lost none of its expressive character, as in The Twelfth Sonnet for cello solo. Daus's works include Sea-Gate Cantata (1937); Variations on a Yemenite Theme for Flute and Piano (1937); String Quartet (1953); Concerto for Violin (1957); Four Dialogues for Violin and Cello (1964); The Twelfth Sonnet, for cello solo (1967); Four Improvisations while Reading the Song of Songs, for guitar solo; and numerous songs and choral pieces. (Uri (Erich) Toeplitz and Yohanan Boehm (2nd ed.)