Matanya Ophee

June 15, 1932 - November 6, 2017

Matanya Ophee, age 85, passed away on November 6th, 2017. Preceded in death by his parents, Aaron and Yocheved Polac and one brother. He is survived by his wife, Margarita Ophee-Mazo; daughters, Yadin Ophee and Tamar (Mark) Amidon; step-daughter, Marina Goldberg; sisters, Osnat Nizri and Ruhama Gibson, and 7 grandchildren. He was a preeminent international figure in the classical guitar world. The author of numerous scholarly writings, discoverer of forgotten composers and their works, now played all over the world, he was also a proprietor and editor of the publishing house Editions Orphée. He introduced to the Western world an entire repertoire of guitar music from nineteenth-century Russia. His work took him around the world as a major figure in the international forums of classical guitar performers and scholars. He was the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Guitar Foundation of America and other international awards for his professional accomplishments. He was a career pilot, a captain of several Boing airplanes. He spoke freely seven languages, and friends still remember him reciting from memory Pushkin’s Eugene Onegin in Hebrew. He was a great cook. But above all, he was a tremendous human being who would be missed immensely. A Celebration of Life service will be held at 3:30 PM on Sunday, November 12th at the Heritage House Synagogue, 1151 College Ave.