Born in 1930, Serge Kaufmann studied classical music at Collège Calvin in Geneva, and then at the Schola Cantorum in Paris, under the direction of Daniel Lesur. In the post-war years, the sight of a photograph – the boy in the Warsaw Ghetto – pivoted his convictions a passionate, internal questioning whose voice became ever more insistent: “What would have happened to me if, instead of being born in Switzerland, I had been born on the other side of the border? Would I not have shared the fate of these thousands of Jewish children who didn’t have the chance to grow up simply because they were born of Jewish parents or grand-parents !”
Inspired by this revelation, Serge Kaufmann has enriched for nearly 25 years the field of Jewish music by composing works with evocative names: Suite Yiddish, Petite suite klezmer, Le Maharam de Rothenbourg, Neshama, Kol nidré, Yesod… Although never built on purely traditional melodies, his compositions have a sound that is undeniably Jewish.
His vocal, orchestral and chamber music works have been the subject of several recordings. Serge Kaufmann is a Chevalier des Arts et Lettres.
At the end of 2024, the IEMJ is publishing six new scores by Serge Kaufmann, in paper or digital format, for various instrumental and vocal ensembles.
Consult and order these scores on the IEMJ store
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Aroa, Trio pour violon, alto et violoncelle
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Cantabile, 3 chants pour violoncelle, quintette à cordes et clavecin
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Capriccio, Chant pour violoncelle seul
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Kaddish, pour violoncelle solo
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Le temps déchiré, Poème pour mezzo-soprano et orchestre à cordes
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Parade Klezmer, pour orchestre à vent, percussions et contrebasse
Listen to audio excerpts from:
Cantabile, pour violoncelle, quintette à cordes et clavecin – 1st song (Extract)
Kaddish, for solo cello, performed by Martine Bailly in the presence of the composer, Serge Kaufmann, in 2022 (Extract)
Le temps déchiré, Poème pour mezzo-soprano et orchestre à cordes (Extract)
