Leonid Semenovich Katz (Katz, Leonid) |

Katz, Leonid

Rostov-on-Don rightfully enjoys the reputation of a “musical city”, and largely thanks to its symphony orchestra and its leader. No wonder D. Shostakovich, who visited here in 1964, noted the high performing qualities of the team, the excellent work of L. Katz. For more than fifteen years he has been leading the Rostov orchestra – a not so common example of a long and fruitful community! Katz is well aware of the specifics of orchestral work. After all, before the war, after studying at the Odessa Music and Drama Institute, he played the violin in the opera orchestras of Irkutsk, Odessa, Perm. Only after that, in 1936, the young musician entered the violin class of the Odessa Conservatory. The Great Patriotic War interrupted his studies. In 1945, having been demobilized, Katz returned here, this time to the conductor’s class of A. Klimov. He had to finish his education at the Kyiv Conservatory (1949), where his teacher was transferred. For three years (1949-1952) he worked with the Kuibyshev Orchestra, and since 1952 he has been head of the Rostov-on-Don Symphony Orchestra. Under the baton of Katz, hundreds of pieces of classical and contemporary music have been performed here and on tour.

L. Grigoriev, J. Platek, 1969