Metadata: The Archives of Naum Levin
Collection
- Country:
- Finland
- Holding institution:
- National Archives of Finland (Helsinki)
- Holding institution (official language):
- Kansallisarkisto
- Postal address:
- Rauhankatu 17, 00171 Helsinki, Finland
- Phone number:
- +358 29 533 7000
- Web address:
- https://arkisto.fi/
- Reference number:
- Naum Levinin arkisto
- Title:
- The Archives of Naum Levin
- Title (official language):
- Naum Levinin arkisto
- Creator/accumulator:
- Naum Levin
- Date(s):
- 1916/1996
- Language:
- Swedish
- Finnish
- English
- Extent:
- 7 files
- Type of material:
- Textual material
- Photographic images
- Physical condition:
- Good
- Scope and content:
- The collection holds Naum Levin’s archives from 1916–1996. The collection contains biographical documents, work-related records, photographs and other documents concerning his wife Irma Levin and brother Abel Levin (1896–1946). The biographical documents (file 1) contain records from 1916–1996, including passports, membership cards, letters of recommendation, contracts, notes, received correspondence and newspaper clippings. The work-related records (file 2) include documents from violin competitions and teaching programmes (1965–1978) and reviews, and reports of Lahti Music School (Lahden musiikkiopisto). Besides these, there are records of concert activity (1925–1978), including concert programmes, newspaper clippings of concert reviews. The photographs (files 3–5) contain photos of Naum Levin, including artist portraits and pictures from his youth, photos of family and friends, including an album with photos from a villa in Terijoki, Karelia, and an album with photos of Levin’s parents in Vyborg. The other documents (file 6–7) contain Irma Levin’s documents, including a passport, letters and postcards (1942–1986), letters and photos from the Royal Family of Sweden (1943–1978; Levin looked after princess Sibylla’s godchildren in the Finnish nursery Bellevue in Stockholm), letters received by Irma’s mother Agnes Railio (1930–1970), newspaper clippings (1933–1992), Irma Levin’s photos and photos of her extended family. The other documents also include Abel Levin’s war claim applications to the Finnish Ministry of Finance in 1944 concerning lost real estate in Karelia annexed by the Soviets and documents of Isak Levin’s (1870–1932) hat factory (Wiipurin lakkitehdas).
- Archival history:
- The archives of Naum Levin were donated by his family member in 2010 as part of the initiative to collect private archives of Jewish individuals in the National Archives of Finland. The initiative was funded by the Leo and Regina Wainstein foundation. The Naum Levin archives were organized in the National Archives in Helsinki.
- Administrative/biographical history:
- Violinist Naum Levin was born in Vyborg in 1907 to merchant Isak Levin and Rakel Lea Kravts. Levin was considered a child prodigy and he gave his first public concert at five years old. He studied violin in Vyborg with Boris Sirpo, Pjotr Tschekassky and Nachum Scheinin, in Budapest with Jenő Hubay, in Ècole Normale de Musique in Paris with Maurice Hayotin, and in Königstein with Willy Hess. From 1923 he held numerous solo concerts and between 1946–1966 he was the first violinist of Helsinki City Orchestra. During the Second World War he was in Sweden and in 1945 he was the first violinist of Vasa Teatern. He taught music in Sibelius Academy and in music schools in Hämeenlinna and Lahti. Levin died in Lohja in 1978. Levin was married to children’s nurse Irma Tuulikki Nikander.
- Access points: persons/families:
- Abel Levin
- Agnes Railio
- Irma Levin
- Isak Levin
- Naum family
- Naum Levin
- Rakel Lea Kravts
- Yerusha Network member:
- National Archives of Finland