Symphony No. 3 " '' Kaddish '' " is a programmatic choral symphony by Leonard Bernstein , published in 1963 . It is a dramatic work written for a large orchestra , a full choir , a boys ' choir , a soprano soloist and a narrator . " '' Kaddish '' " refers to the Jewish prayer that is chanted at every synagogue service for the dead but never mentions " death . " The symphony is dedicated to the memory of John F. Kennedy who was assassinated on November 22 , 1963 , just weeks before the first performance of the symphony . Leonard Bernstein wrote the text of the narration himself , but struggled with his own motivation for the aggressiveness of the text . In 2003 , after talks with Bernstein shortly before his death , Holocaust survivor Samuel Pisar added a new narration about his personal experiences and how his family suffered and perished in the Holocaust , and his subsequent struggle with his belief . The Bernstein estate allowed this version only to be used with Samuel Pisar as recitator before his 2015 death
assassinated
Assassination of John F. Kennedy
Symphony No. 3 (Bernstein)