Andre Hajdu

André Hajdu (1932–2016) was a composer and ethnomusicologist of Hungarian origin. He studied at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest with Endre Szervánszky and Ferenc Szabó (composition), Erno Szégedi (piano), and Zoltán Kodály (ethnomusicology). 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). He took up residence in Jerusalem in 1966 and taught at the Tel Aviv Music Academy from 1966 to 1991 and at Bar-Ilan University since 1970. Hajdu served as chairman in the Music Department there and founded a composition department. His notable students have included Aharon Razel, Gil Shohat, Yonatan Razel and others. André Hajdu composed many pedagogical works, particularly for 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. He also studied Jewish Klezmer and Hassidic repertories and published several articles on this subject. In 2005, Hajdu received the title of Doctor Honoris Causa of Jerusalem Hebrew University.