- 16.8.1907
Born in Kolozsvár, capital of Transylvania (Hungary), now Cluj (Romania), to his parents David and Sarah Boskovich.
- 1915
Begins to learn the violin at the Gheorghe Dima Conservatory and Academy of Music (Cluj); shortly afterwards changes to piano. Accepted by Piroska Hevesi, a well-known pianist and pedagogue for gifted children at the Institut de Pregatire de Artisti.
- 1924
Goes to Vienna. Studies composition with Richard Stöhr and piano with Viktor Ebenstein at the Academy of Music.
- 1925/6
Returns home. Leaves for Paris, where he studies piano with Lazar Levy at the Conservatoire National Supérieur. For the next three years continues piano studies with Alfred Cortot and composition with Paul Dukas and Nadia Boulanger at the Ecôle Normale de Musique. Specializes in vocal and choral music at the Schola Cantorum.
- 1929
Returns to Cluj. Manifold activities as composer, concert pianist and conductor at the National Opera.
- 1934
Founder and conductor of the Karl Goldmark Symphony Orchestra, comprised entirely of Jewish musicians. Among the highlights: program with the renowned violinist Bronislaw Hubermann.
- 1934/5
Becomes a Member of the Jewish student organization Bnei Brit. Embarks on a research tour through Carpathian villages to study the traditions and folksongs of local Jewish communities.
- 1938
Invited by the Palestine Symphony Orchestra (now the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra) to attend the premiere of his orchestral suite Chansons Populaires Juives (later renamed The Golden Chain) conducted by Issay Dobrowen. Arrives in Haifa in February. During his visit decides to stay in Eretz Israel and participate in the cultural and musical renaissance of his people.
- 1939
Co-founder of an opera company in Tel Aviv. Produces and conducts Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann.
- 1942/3
Becomes acquainted with the Yemenite singer Bracha Zephira.
- 1944
Invited by the dancer Yardena Cohen to prepare piano transcripts of Iraqi-Jewish ensemble music for dance works based on Biblical themes.
- 1945
Co-founder of the Israeli Conservatory and Academy of Music in Tel Aviv. Head of the Department of Composition and Theoretical Subjects. Teaches composition, harmony and counterpoint.
- 1946
Receives the tragic news that his parents were murdered in Auschwitz.
- 1947-58
Member of the Jury for the Tel Aviv Municipality’s Engel Prize (1947, 1948, 1956, 1957, 1958).
- 1950
Marriage to Miriam Israelit (pianist, teacher).
- 1950
Grant awarded by the Ministry of Education and Culture for a three-months study tour to Europe. In this context, he meets among others: Milhaud, Honneger, Messiaen and Hindemith. Writes travel reviews for Al Hamishmar. Lectures on the BBC and at Hilversum, the Netherlands, on Israeli music.
- 15.8.1950
Appointed as member of the Public Council of Kol Zion La-Gola (The Voice of Zion to the Diaspora, a division of the Israeli Broadcasting Authority).
- 1950-60
Appointed as member of the Public Council for Art and Culture since its foundation (December 16), at the invitation of the Minister of Education, Zalman Shazar.
- c. 1950 –
Co-editor of Bat Kol, journal of the Israel Composers’ League. Invited by the Academy of the Hebrew Language to participate in the preparation of a Hebrew Music Dictionary. During the 1950s and early 1960s, served as a member of the Israeli Opera’s committee and of the Advisory Committee of the Israeli Broadcasting Service’s Music Department.
- 1.7.1951
Invited by the Israeli Broadcasting Authority to inaugurate the series “Composers talk about themselves”.
- Oct. 1951
Jury member at the Israel Competition of Dance and Choreography.
- 1953
Music adviser to the Habima Theatre.
- 1954
Birth of son David.
- 1952-61
Co-editor of the music section (“Sounds”) in Parchment of Fire, a 3-volume anthology (1952, 1958, 1961) comprising the literary and artistic works of those who fell in the service of the Israeli Defence Forces during the War of Independence and thereafter, published by the Israeli Ministry of Defence.
- 1955-57
Committee member of the Milo Artists’ Club, a major institution in Israeli cultural life at the time. In this context, presents a lecture on contemporary music at Milo (July 19, 1957).
- 1956
Music advisor to the Inbal Dance-Theater Company.
- 1956-64
Music critic for the Israeli daily newspaper Ha’aretz.
- 1958
Co-founder of the Thelma Yellin Arts High-School, an integral part of the Israeli Conservatory and Academy of Music, Tel Aviv. Lays the groundwork for the school’s curriculum in music subjects.
- 1959
Birth of daughter Sarit.
- 1959-64
Member of the Senate of Tel Aviv University, after the Music Academy became part of the University.
- 1963
Member of the Professional Program Committee of the international conference “East and West in Music”, Jerusalem, August 5-12, 1963, where he also presented a lecture; conference also featured a performance of Concerto da Camera.
- 1963/4
Invited to lecture at Heidelberg University (Germany) and at various universities in the United States. These invitations were not realised due to his illness.
- 1964
Passed away on November 5 in Tel Aviv.
Alexander Uriya Boskovich’s wife Miriam (pianist, teacher), his two children – Sarit (psychologist) and David (artist) – and three grandchildren live in Tel Aviv.