About the life and work of pianist and composer
Majoie Hajary (1921-2017)

Forgotten?
As a teenager Majoie Hajary [listen to the pronunciation of her name here:     ] leaves her native town Paramaribo to study piano and composition in Amsterdam. She shines worldwide on the stages with her performances of Liszt, Mozart, Schumann,… Her own compositions are a dazzling mix of Surinamese musical styles, of western, eastern and African sounds, of classical music, jazz and funk. She settles in Paris, Suriname in the heart. ‘That is where my soul is. And my soul is in that music.’  She knows: ‘A composer is only appreciated when he or she is dead’.

Timeline

The timeline shows events that have been important in her life.

Database

The database contains an overview of the compositions and performances of her work.

Forum

You are invited to share knowledge about Majoie Hajary on the Forum page.

The sparkling sounds of Majoie Hajary's music

When she died, she was called ‘A lost daughter of Suriname’. An understandable characterisation, but not entirely justified. Although she left her country of birth as a 15-year-old girl and has never lived there since, composer/pianist Majoie Hajary (1921-2017) carried Suriname in her heart her entire life. In all her compositions, elements of the various Surinamese cultures resound. Her remarkable work is not very well known, but that is about to change.

In compiling this site, great care was taken to ensure that names, sources and copyrights were mentioned. Should you come across or recognise any of your own work without your name being mentioned, please contact the site administrator Ellen de Vries.

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