Andre Hajdu

Andre Hajdu, 2012

Andre Hajdu (Hebrew: אנדרה היידו; born 5 March 1932) is an Israeli composer and ethnomusicologist.

Biography

Andre Hajdu was born on 5 March 1932 in Hungary. He studied at Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest with Endre Szervánszky and Ferenc Szabó (composition), Erno Szégedi (piano), and Zoltán Kodály (ethnomusicology). As a Kodály disciple, he was involved for two years in research about Gypsy musical culture and published several articles on this subject.[1]

After the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, Hajdu escaped to Paris and continued his studies at the Paris Conservatoire with Darius Milhaud (composition) and Olivier Messiaen (philosophy of music) obtaining the 1st prize in the discipline.[2] Among his class mates were Gilbert Amy, William Bolcom, Philip Corner and Paul Mefano, to name just a few. In Paris he met a variety of stimulating people from the playwright Samuel Beckett to Prof. Israel Adler of the Hebrew University, who brought him on his first visit to Israel in 1966.

Mira Zakai and Andre Hajdu in Jerusalem

Since 1966, he has been living in Jerusalem. He taught at the Tel Aviv Music Academy from 1966 to 1991 and at Bar-Ilan University since 1970. He served as chairman in the Music Department there and founded a composition department.

He has also studied Jewish Klezmer and Hassidic repertories and published several articles on this subject. As a composer he was and is deeply involved in Jewish topics, not only on the usual folkloristic or liturgical levels, but also confronted more abstract subjects of Jewish thought (Oral Law, philosophical books of the Bible) as well as Jewish History.

A majority of works are dedicated to music-teaching, especially piano and theory through a creative approach (involving the player to the process of composing) e.g. Milky Way, Art of Piano-playing, Book of Challenges, Concerto for 10 young pianists. All this is connected with the practice of creative teaching in the School for Excellence in Jerusalem, an experimental school for a new approach to music teaching.

As an educator, Hajdu, through his devotion to teaching, has nurtured some of the leading talents of Israeli musicians; among his students are many prominent composers, including Gil Shohat,[3] Yonatan Razel,[4] Yoni Rechter, Shem Tov Levi,[5] Matti Kovler[6] and Matan Porat.

Awards

Selected works

Scenic
Orchestral
Strings
Chamber
Piano
Songs
Vocal-orchestral
Choral

Discography

These compositions were widely played in Israel and abroad by orchestras and ensembles such as

See also

References

  1. Schleifer 2001.
  2. Schleifer 2001
  3. "gilshohat.com". gilshohat.com. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
  4. "yonatanrazel.com". yonatanrazel.com. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
  5. "Shem-Tov Levi". Israel-music.com. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
  6. mattikovler.com
  7. "Israel Prize Official Site - Recipients in 1997" (in Hebrew).

External links

See also