Andre Hajdu

Andre Hajdu was born in 1932 in Budapest

Hajdu was born in Budapest in 1932. His father ran a branch of a large store, and his mother was a pianist who owned a photography studio. He survived the destruction of Hungarian Jewry with his mother in Budapest.

He studied at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music, where he worked in ethnomusicology under Zoltán Kodály and researched Gypsy music. In 1955 his Gypsy Cantata won first prize in Warsaw. After the 1956 revolution he moved to Paris and studied at the Paris Conservatoire with Darius Milhaud and Olivier Messiaen.

In 1960 and 1961 he taught music in Tunis. Back in Paris he became religious, and in 1966 he settled in Jerusalem. He taught at the Tel Aviv music academy and at Bar-Ilan University, where he headed the music department.

He helped found the music track at the Israel Arts and Science Academy in Jerusalem and wrote teaching works for piano. In 2001 he formed the Haoman Chai ensemble with his students, drawing on Chabad melodies and Jewish texts. He received the Israel Prize in 1997 and an honorary doctorate from the Hebrew University in 2005.

He married Ruth in 1969 and had 6 sons. He died in Jerusalem in 2016 and was buried on the Mount of Olives.