Simon Laks

Simon (Szymon) Laks (1 November 1901 – 11 December 1983) was a Polish Jewish composer and violinist, who became head of the prisoners' orchestra at Birkenau-Auschwitz.

In 1921, he entered the Conservatoire of Warsaw, the capital of the newly independent Poland.

He then turned to Paris where he continued his musical studies until 1929 at the Conservatoire National.

He became one of the founder members of the Association for Young Polish Musicians in Paris, founded at the end of 1926 with his help.

In 1941, Simon Laks, a Jew, was arrested by the German authorities and interned in the camp at Pithiviers, close to Orléans.

As a musician, he was treated better than most deportees, and survived for more than two years where he was the head of the orchestra at the concentration camp.

[4] Simon Laks worked in the baroque and classical genres, the traditional principles and formal construction of instruments combining for tonal harmony.

He possessed a sense of proportions, a mastery of polyphonic technique, a rhythmic purity, and a simple and pure style.

The many songs of Simon Laks cover many influences: the vocal lyrical romantic tradition of Polish lieds and the French interwar style.