Childhood and early years.

-- "what a world we were led into ... a world of sound .. a world of dreams"

Born in Tchernigov, Russia in 1890, the son of Nahum Rudinow, a livestock merchant, and his wife Batya, Moshe Rudinow began his religious studies in a cheder at age four. Orphaned at eight by the death of his father, he was placed in the care of Gedaliah Weinhause, a local cantor. He assisted in raising the family's meager income with appearances as a child cantor in the local synagogues. In his teens he moved to Kiev. Here, staying in the home of an uncle, he joined the choir of the Brodski Synagogue. Half a century later, he described the musical life of that choir as follows:
My mother brought me to Kiev in 1904, after I had sung for more than four years in Tchernigov. Although my alto voice was on the decline, I was accepted as a soloist in the choir of the Brodski Synagogue. There is not a Temple in the United States that could pride itself with such a choir as that Synagogue had. There were nearly 40 boys in the choir, all of them chosen voices and excellent sight readers. Added to that there were ten men's voices, mostly from the Kiev opera.
Kiev was a city of choral culture. Among the choirs of this city were the monks in the Pechersk Convent who sang Ancient Slav Chants in unison, the two choirs of the St. Vladimir and St. Sophie Cathedrals. The Brothers’ Convent down town where the Archbishop led the services had two large choirs, one of the monks who chanted in unison in the aisles of the church and a mixed choir in the lofts. There were also two secular choirs, the students' choir, two hundred persons strong, and Zawadski's choir. Zawadski was a rich nobleman and a remarkable musician who kept his own choir on his estate, trained them and toured all over the country with them. Nevertheless, our choir was considered one of the best.1

Lazar Weiner, who as a boy sang soprano in the Brodski Synagogue, later wrote: "The choir at that time consisted of approximately forty boys - all children from poor homes, and as far as I can recall, more than half came from towns and villages outside of Kiev. We received our general schooling at the synagogue daily until three o'clock, and from four until five-thirty we had our choir rehearsal. In spite of the fact that Kiev was an anti-Semitic city, the Jewish boys of the synagogue were the official child choristors of the Civic Opera House, where we appeared in such operas as Carmen, Boris Godunoff, Queen of Spades, Werther (by Massenet) and Mephistopheles (by Boito). With what anticipation we would go to the Opera! There we were sure to hear new and famous singers and conductors. And what a world we were led into ... a world of sound .. a world of dreams And the next morning we would discuss the singers we had heard the previous evening. One youngster decided to be a tenor like Sobinov or Zonatelo, while the other was determined to be a bass like Chaliapin, and the third wanted to be a conductor like the one he had seen the previous night. Of course this entire conversation would take place with illustrations. The tenor fans would sing the tenor arias, the bass enthusiasts would sing the bass arias and he who dreamt of being a conductor stood on a chair in the center of the class and conducted an imaginary orchestra, while the rest of us would assist - one at the piano, others imitating fiddles, cellos, clarinets -- all going at a mighty crescendo."

1 Quotes from Moshe are from a series of lectures for Music 101B - The Yiddish Folksong, College of Jewish Studies of San Francisco, 1950; here and on cover from lecture 1, Historical Background.

Brodski Synagogue, August 1991. At that time being used as a children’s puppet theatre. Photo by Ann Rudinow Sætnan. Jack Rudinow in white shirt and hat on left.

But the years in Kiev were also harsh. His wife, Ruth Leviash, later wrote2 of those years that: Moshe became sick in his childhood when, without parents, he made a living from singing in the choir of a synagogue. At that time he was not able to buy a warm coat or good shoes and he walked without these things in the bitter cold Russian winters. It became still worse when he lost his first voice and, with that, his steady income. From the few lessons he gave in Hebrew he was able to pay for a bed and one meal in a paupers’ dining room. This cost him 5 kopeks. It was lucky for him that he was allowed to take home as much bread as he wished so he could have another meal at bed time with a glass of tea. Soon, however, his voice came back and to his delight he was again admitted to the choir of the Brodski Synagogue, the finest in Kiev, at a salary of 25 rubles a month.
But there were other annoying troubles which affected his life in Kiev. Kiev as a capital of the Ukraine was not open to Jews. The police would come at night for inspection and pull out of bed those people who lived there illegally. That unpleasant, uncertain life made him think of going to Odessa after 12 years of misery in hiding. He did this a few years later.

As his teens were over, the wave of anti-Semitism reached its heights in Kiev (1913). One day a friend of his, an orthodox cantor, informed him that he had decided to go to Odessa and asked Moshe to join him. He packed a few belongings and they were off.

Moshe found a job the very day he arrived in Odessa in the Great Synagogue as a choir member and soloist for 45 rubles a month. That was almost twice as much as he used to earn in Kiev and the living conditions were much cheaper. Moshe started again to complete his high school program for entering the Conservatory. (Ruth Rudinow, 1)
2 Quotes from Ruth Leviash are from three sources. Citations are numbered in the text in reference to: 1) an autobiography written as a series of letters to her children and grandchildren in the Fall of 1963, 2) three taped interviews with her granddaughter, Ann Rudinow Sætnan, Summer 1985, and 3) a short series of letters taking up threads from the earlier letters and interviews, in part written in Russian and translated by her daughter Naomi Rudinow Cohen, Fall 1985.

Though without a high school diploma, Moshe was admitted to the Conservatory of Music in Odessa, and it was there he met Ruth Leviash, who later became his wife and concert partner.

Picture below: Brodski Synagogue, August 1991. At that time being used as a children’s puppet theatre. Photo by Ann Rudinow Sætnan. Jack Rudinow, Moshe Rudinow's son, in white shirt and hat on left.