Que sais-je?

About the album

Que sais-je? is a one-hour composition that traces the life and philosophy of the historian and philosopher Yehuda Elkana — the composer's father — through music, archival recordings and text. Written for six musicians with live electronics, it is performed here by the Meitar Ensemble under Pierre-André Valade, with tenor Topi Lehtipuu.

The work is in fourteen sections, separated by recordings in which Yehuda Elkana recounts his life in his own voice: born in Yugoslavia in 1934, deported to Auschwitz at ten, escaped during the death marches, head of his family at fourteen, later director of the Van Leer Institute in Jerusalem and rector of the Central European University in Budapest. Two poems recur alongside him, each read by its own author — Péter Nádas in Hungarian and Gertrude Stein in English.

What prompted the piece was the distance in his father's telling. He spoke of survival with remarkable clarity — eloquent, precise, yet emotionally remote, as if narrating someone else's story. Que sais-je? gives voice to what was left unspoken, expressing through music what words alone could not carry.

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Track list

1. 1.
   Que sais-je? (2023)
   in fourteen parts
   64:26
   EnsembleMeitar Ensemble — Hagar Shahal, flute · Jonathan Hadas, clarinet · Nadav Cohen, bassoon · Talia Herzlich, violin · Yoni Gotlibovich, cello · Amit Dolberg, piano TenorTopi Lehtipuu ConductorPierre-André Valade Electronics and sound designAmos Elkana Recorded voicesYehuda Elkana, narration · Péter Nádas, reading in Hungarian · Gertrude Stein, reading in English

   • Part 1 5:00
   • Part 2 3:24
   • Part 3 5:22
   • Part 4 3:34
   • Part 5 2:12
   • Part 6 5:29
   • Part 7 4:11
   • Part 8 4:38
   • Part 9 2:38
   • Part 10 8:30
   • Part 11 9:02
   • Part 12 3:05
   • Part 13 1:59
   • Part 14 5:22

   Recorded at the Auditorium of the Israeli Conservatory of Music, Tel Aviv, 5 November 2024

Physical CD

About the composer

Amos Elkana (b. 1967) is a composer, guitarist and electronic musician whose work spans contemporary concert music, progressive rock, jazz and improvisation. He studied jazz guitar at Berklee College of Music and composition at the New England Conservatory, and holds an MFA in electronic music and sound from Bard College, where he studied with Pauline Oliveros and George Lewis.

His music has been performed internationally by leading soloists, ensembles and orchestras, and presented at Carnegie Hall, Konzerthaus Berlin and the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. He is the recipient of Israel's Prime Minister's Prize for Composers, the Rosenblum Prize for Outstanding Artists and Creators, and the ACUM Golden Feather Award.

Full biography →

Press and interviews

For review copies, interview requests, high-resolution artwork or press materials, please write to amoselkana@gmail.com.

Reception

a glum yet light-footed assembly of repetitive grooves and textures Gramophone — Jennifer Gersten

A profound tribute to the composer’s father, teachers — and audience. Blogcritics — Jon Sobel

sometimes haunting, other times harmonic and always poetic Take Effect — Tom Haugen

Prizes and nominations

• Included on the first-round ballot for the GRAMMY® Awards — 2026