Pioneer Israeli Composer Dies

Composer Menachem Avidom, a pioneer of the Mediterranean style that was popular in Israel for three decades, has died at 87.

Avidom died Saturday, family members said.

A cousin of Austrian composer Gustav Mahler, Avidom wrote nine symphonies and three operas, as well as concertos and string and brass quartets.

He pioneered a musical style interweaving Mediterranean rhythms, melodies and instruments with traditional Western technique. The style caught on in the 1930s and dominated Israeli composing for three decades.

Born in 1908 in Stanislav, Poland, Avidom emigrated to Palestine in 1925.