Leo Zeitlin

Who is Leo Zeitlin?

Lev Mordukhov Tseitlin, billed as Leo Zeitlin, was a Russian composer. In 1923, he emigrated to the United States. His best-known work, and only recorded work, is Eli Zion, a paraphrase for piano and cello "on a folk theme and trope of 'Song of Songs'".

Zeitlin was a violinist, violist, conductor and impresario who was active in Saint Petersburg's Society for Jewish Folk Music. In 1923, shortly after he arrived in New York City with his wife Esther from Danzig, he became the violist and arranger for the Capitol Theatre.

In 1925, he began arranging orchestral and small ensemble pieces for the Capitol's radio program on WEAF, which in 1926 became the flagship station of the NBC Red Network. Beginning in 1926, the series of light classical concerts titled Capitol Theatre was broadcast by the NBC Red Network on Sunday evenings from 7:20pm to 9:15pm. This series continued until 1929, not long before Zeitlin's death.

In an article written by Pro Musica Hebraica, Zeitlin is described as "one of the most important Russian Jewish composers to resurface, after decades of neglect, as a leading figure in the history of twentieth-century Jewish art music."