Abraham Cherniavsky and the Cherniavsky Trio

My name is Mark Cherniavsky and I live in Los Angeles, California. My grandfather was called Abraham or Avrum Cherniavsky (born Berdichev 1857) who joined his musically talented sons (Leo, Jan, Mischel), later known as the Cherniavsky Trio, in leaving Russia for western Europe in 1904.

The Trio enjoyed international success throughout the world, as a violin, piano and cello ensemble between 1904 and the mid nineteen thirties. They toured in western Europe from 1904, went to South Africa (1908-09), India, Australia and New Zealand (1914) and made their New York debut in 1916. After separating, they appeared individually.

According to the Encyclopedia Judaica (edition of 1971, entry for Musicians), the Trio were Odessa Jews. I have no evidence for this. The family moved from place to place and were never very far from Odessa or Kiev. Abraham's wife, Rachel or Rosa, was a Magaziner from Berdichev.

The Cherniavsky Trio in Minsk, 1904
Source: cherniavsky.com

Abraham was probably a klezmer musician and I have a photograph of him taken with his "children's orchestra" in Odessa which was featured in the Odessa List newspaper of May 1900.

I can account for all the descendants from the Trio brothers, but I have no evidence of Abraham having any brothers other than one called Isidore who died in Los Angeles in the 1930's, childless. I know that Abraham had two sisters but know nothing about their descendants.

Another Cherniavsky was also in music. His first name was Joseph (1894-1959) and he became well known in the USA as a klezmer musician and conductor. He was not a relation of Abraham, so far as I know. The Cherniavsky name is still quite common in Ukraine.

If a user of this Odessa website has any family information about Abraham's siblings, I hope to learn more at mark@lavarenne.com. Thank you very much.