My father Avram Paskevich, a violinist and a violin maker. The photo was taken in Kiev in 1956.
My father was born in Obolonskaya Street, Podol, Kiev, in 1906. Podol was at the boundary of the area, where the Jewish population was allowed to live. His father, Ruven Paskevich, born in Kiev in the 1860s was a balagula [Russian for coachman, freight carrier].
My father began to play the violin when he was about five years old. He played at cinema-theaters. He began to work when he was eleven. He worked so for quite a long time. He supported his sisters until they got married.
He was a musician and also a wonderful violin-maker. The best masters could leave their Stradivarius, Guarneri and Gagliano instruments in his care. I could sit in his shop located across the street from the Opera House for hours and hours. My friendship with my father was a friendship between two men when no words were needed. We were very close. I learned about music from him. Although I never became a musician I know about music, that’s for sure.
