Minkowski Pinchos (Born April 1859 Biała Cerkiew near Kiev – February 4, 1924 Boston) – a singer, a synagogue cantor. He was the son of Mordechai, cantor, brother of Abraham. He became acquainted with the principles of music as a chorister at Nissima Belzer in Chisinau. He also studied singing with Ernest Taliabue in Canning. Ces. Ros. Tow. Muses. in Moscow, and then Victor Rokitański in Canning. Tow. Friends of Music in Vienna. There he also studied theory with Robert Fuchs. From 1875 he was a cantor in Biała Cerkiew, from 1877 in Berdyczów, from 1878 in Chisinau, from 1882 in Kherson. In 1885-1886 he was a cantor in the Choral Synagogue in Lviv. Then, after a one-year stay in Odessa, where he studied harmony with Dawid Nowakowski, he went to New York for 5 years, from where he was appointed to Odessa in place of N. Belzer to the famous Synagogue of Brodzka. He remained in this position for 30 years. In 1922 he moved to Paris and then to the United States. He gained great recognition there and the nickname “king of money changers.” He combined the “enlightened” style of S. Sulzer with the “Volyn” style of N. Belzer. He wrote a lot about Jewish music, especially about vocal music. He published, among others Die Entwicklung der Synagogalen Lithurgie bis nach die Reformation des 19. Jahrhunderts (Odessa 1902), Moderne Liturgies in unsere Synagogen in Russland (part I-II, ibid. 1910) and collective work Geschichte von Chasanut (New York 1924).

Rozen, Di geshikhte; Friedmann, Lebensbilder III; Wininger, National Biographie IV; Brückner, Rock, Judentum; Stengel, Gerigk, Juden; M. Nulman, Concise Encyclopedia of Jewish Music, New York 1975.