A Serious Man (soundtrack)
A Serious Man (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the film score for the 2009 Coen brothers movie A Serious Man. The music was composed by Carter Burwell and released by Lakeshore Records on September 22, 2009. It was recorded in 2009 at Clinton Recording Studios in New York City and runs 33 minutes and 34 seconds. Burwell has worked with the Coens on nearly all their films, and this score continues that collaboration.
The music is designed to fit the film’s setting—Jewish suburbs of Minneapolis in 1967. Burwell based the sound on a repeating polyrhythmic harp motif with variations, paired with a piano melody in a different meter and darker, moving chords underneath. He avoided traditional Jewish instruments like violin or clarinet. The Coens approved the harp-piano approach, which helps express the main character Larry Gopnik’s sense of helplessness.
A standout moment is a three-minute, dialogue-free rooftop scene in which Larry adjusts the TV antenna. The sound designer Skip Lievsay helped create the atmosphere, making the scene feel subjective and anchored in the soundtrack.
The score includes musical references to Jefferson Airplane, the TV show F Troop, and Sidor Belarsky. Three Jefferson Airplane songs and Belarsky’s “Dem Milner’s Trern” are featured on the soundtrack. The first piece written bridges the old shtetl world to the 1960s Hebrew school, using wind instruments, cowbells, drums, electric guitar, and bass to evoke the transition, while trying to mirror the feel of Jefferson Airplane’s guitar-and-bass texture.
Critics praised the score for its ability to support the film’s themes and add an uncanny dimension. It was described as melodic yet unobtrusive, evocative, and delicately layered, contributing to a taut, somber mood.
The credits are drawn from the album’s liner notes and list Carter Burwell as producer, with Lakeshore Records releasing the music.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 13:59 (CET).