Bernhard Klee

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Bernhard Klee
Klee, in the 1960s
Born(1936-04-19)19 April 1936
Schleiz, Thuringia, Germany
Died10 October 2025(2025-10-10) (aged 89)
Kreuzlingen, Thurgau, Switzerland
OccupationConductor
Organizations
Spouse
​
(divorced)​
Awards

Bernhard Klee (19 April 1936 – 10 October 2025) was a German conductor and pianist. His leadership posts included terms as Generalmusikdirektor (GMD) at the Theater Lübeck from 1966 to 1973, chief conductor of the Radiophilharmonie Hannover in Hanover from 1976 to 1979, GMD in Düsseldorf from 1977 to 1987, chief conductor of the NDR Radiophilharmonie from 1991 to 1995 and of the Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz from 1992 to 1997, Beginning in the 1970s, he was closely associated with the BBC as a regular guest conductor of several London orchestras. He performed in Munich, Vienna, at the Salzburg Festival and in the United States, among others, and recorded extensively. As a pianist, he often accompanied his first wife, soprano Edith Mathis, in Lieder repertoire.

Klee was regarded as a renowned interpreter of Mozart, discovering rarely played works such as Zaide and recognized in awards for recordings of his music such as Deutscher Schallplattenpreis and Wiener Flötenuhr. He made significant contributions to the performance of contemporary music, conducting world premieres of works by Hans-Jürgen von Bose, Wolfgang Fortner, Sofia Gubaidulina, Hans Werner Henze, Volker David Kirchner, Detlev Müller-Siemens, Dieter Schnebel and Manfred Trojahn.

Life and career

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Bernhard Klee was born in Schleiz, Thuringia, on 19 April 1936[1][2][3] and grew up in Jena. Klee learned to play the piano, violin, and double bass. He was a member of the Leipzig Thomanerchor from 1948 to 1955,[4] under Günther Ramin,[1][5] eventually serving as prefect.[6]: 920  At the age of ten, he heard his first Mozart opera (Le nozze di Figaro), which would shape him profoundly.[7] After completing his Abitur in 1955 at the Thomasschule zu Leipzig, he studied at the State Academy of Music in Cologne, where his teachers included Günter Wand for conducting,[5] Else Schmitz-Gohr for piano,[8] and Maurits Frank for chamber music.[5] He later emphasized that Fritz Schieri especially influenced his conducting technique.[6]: 924  Wand was a role model for him as a conductor focused on the composition.[1]

Early career

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In 1957, Klee began his career as a répétiteur at the Cologne Opera,[2] where Otto Ackermann was Generalmusikdirektor (GMD). In 1958, he moved to the Stadttheater Bern.[2][5] When Wolfgang Sawallisch was GMD in Cologne, he appointed Klee as his assistant.[5] Klee made his conducting debut in 1960[9] with Mozart's Die Zauberflöte; the soloists at the time included Elisabeth Grümmer, Edith Mathis, Fritz Wunderlich, and Franz Crass.[5] He then held his first positions as Kapellmeister at the Landestheater Salzburg (1962/63), Theater Oberhausen (1963–1965), and Staatsoper Hannover (1965/66).[2]

Lübeck

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From 1966 to 1973, he held his first leading position as GMD at the Theater Lübeck,[2] succeeding Gerd Albrecht.[10] According to Klaus Matthias, who described him as "a gifted Mozart conductor," Klee devoted himself to the music of Haydn and Mozart, as well as Beethoven and Brahms.[10] He also continued the biennial Bruckner tradition, revisited the symphonies of Mahler[10] and programmed a Sibelius cycle.[10] Matthias noted that Klee "particularly honored Lübeck's historically rooted orientation toward Scandinavia." Klee also performed works by other Romantic composers and representatives of classical modernism, such as Igor Stravinsky, Béla Bartók, and Dmitri Shostakovich.[10] He also played the previously neglected Baroque and pre-Classical composers, which Matthias attributed to Klee's time with the Thomanerchor.[10] Klee's wife, the renowned soprano Edith Mathis, frequently performed in concerts.[10] From 1967, Klee introduced pre-concert talks and later program notes for modern works by Karl Amadeus Hartmann and Wolfgang Fortner.[10] His concert series Musik der Zeit (Music of the time) showcased "avant-garde attempts that were rejected by the audience and not sustained."[10] He also advocated for children's concerts.[10] In 1973, he stepped down from his duties in Lübeck "with courageous intellectual independence ahead of schedule".[10]

Guest conducting and international breakthrough

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In 1968 Klee made his debut with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra,[11] with which he would repeatedly perform during the tenures of Karajan and Abbado. After his debut in 1979 with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, he became a regular guest at its symphony concerts in the Berliner Philharmonie and the Haus des Rundfunks during the 1980s.[12]

A guest performance by the Hamburg State Opera took him to the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland in 1969 with Wagner's The Flying Dutchman.[9] In 1971/72, he was a guest conductor with the BBC Symphony Orchestra in London,[13] where he collaborated with Pierre Boulez.[4] At the Proms in London's Royal Albert Hall during the 1970s, he conducted not only the BBC Symphony Orchestra (1972) but also the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO / 1973, 1975).[14] In an interview, he stated that of the three London orchestras he regularly worked with,[6]: 920  he felt particularly connected to the LSO.[6]: 923  He made his debut at the Royal Opera House in London in 1972 with Mozart's Così fan tutte.[9][15]

In 1973, he first appeared at the Salzburg Festival,[16] where he performed Mozart symphonies, arias and a piano concerto with the Mozarteum Orchestra, bassist Robert Kerns and pianist Alexander Jenner [de] (piano).[17] Further appearances there included three performances of Jean-Pierre Ponnelle's production of Le nozze di Figaro 1979 with the Vienna Philharmonic.[18] In 1975, he first conducted at the Wiener Musikverein, where he subsequently conducted the Vienna Symphony and the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra.[19]

Klee first conducted in Munich in the 1973/74 season, works by Hartmann and Hans Werner Henze in a musica viva concert.[20] Karl Heinz Ruppel [de] praised him in the Süddeutsche Zeitung for his precise conducting.[20] Further performances with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra followed,[21] including at the Mozart Festival Würzburg.[22] Joachim Kaiser was impressed by Klee's performance at a concert at the Herkulessaal in 1976, which "established him as a conductor of distinction."[23][24] During the interim period between Rudolf Kempe and Sergiu Celibidache, Klee was one of the guest conductors with the Munich Philharmonic.[25] At his first Munich Opera Festival in 1979, he conducted the premiere of Mozart's La finta giardiniera at the Cuvilliés Theatre, directed by Ferruccio Soleri [it].[26]

When Daniel Barenboim withdrew from his commitment to the New York Philharmonic in the 1973/74 season due to an orchestra strike,[27] Klee stepped in, making his debut in the United States at Avery Fisher Hall.[28] Harold C. Schonberg from the New York Times described his performance of works by Weber, Hartmann, and Mahler as solid but lacking inspiration.[29] Subsequently, Klee was invited to conduct other major U.S. orchestras, including the Big Five.[4] He was a frequent guest with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra at Heinz Hall in the 1990s. In 1992, he made his debut with the Dutch Concertgebouw Orchestra, performing works by Mozart, Schumann, and Dvořák.[30] For Wolf-Eberhard von Lewinski (1976), Klee was "an equally musical and intelligent conductor, a precise craftsman, and a sovereign interpreter."[6]: 920 

Hannover, Düsseldorf, Ludwigshafen

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Following the death of Willy Steiner [de], Klee served as chief conductor of the Radiophilharmonie Hannover from 1976 to 1979, and again from 1991 to 1995.[2][5] According to Günter Katzenberger, he provided the orchestra with "decisive artistic impulses that led to its high reputation and made it known beyond the region."[31] While still active in Hannover, Klee led the Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestra from 1977 to 1987, succeeding Willem van Otterloo.[32]: 31  He placed a particular emphasis on the Second Viennese School, already in his inaugural concert. He conducted local premieres of music by Ravel, Stravinsky, Bartók, and Busoni. He also incorporated music by Olivier Messiaen, Karol Szymanowski, and Henryk Czyż.[32]: 31  During his tenure the orchestra was enlarged from 90 players to 130.[23][33] He planned concert programs carefully, sometimes combining seemingly incompatible pieces, with courage and instinct.[23] The Düsseldorfer Musikverein [de] choir was highly challenged by performances of contemporary music. Highlights included the performance of Denisov's Requiem in 1985, in the presence of the composer and Soviet ambassador Vladimir Semyonov, as well as Messiaen's La Transfiguration de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ. Klee also conducted works by Alexander Scriabin and Franz Schreker, as well as composers from the second half of the 20th century, including Boulez, Ligeti, Maderna, and Penderecki. Contemporary compositions by Baird, Henze, and Kotoński were also performed. Composers such as Witold Lutosławski, Heinz Holliger, and Hans Zender conducted their own works in Düsseldorf during Klee's tenure. Klee also championed Düsseldorf composers such as Günther Becker [de], Oskar Gottlieb Blarr, and Jürg Baur.[32]: 31  He initiated a program for composers in their 20s to collaborate with the orchestra, giving each a residence of a week of watching rehearsals, speak with the musicians and try things out.[4] Together with the choir of the Musikverein choir, Klee recorded for EMI Schumann's Scenes from Goethe's Faust, Requiem, Requiem for Mignon, and orchestral-choral ballads. In 1984, he led the choir and orchestra on a highly acclaimed guest tour to the Wratislavia Cantans festival in Wrocław, Poland.[23][34] On the program were Mozart's Requiem, Schoenberg's A Survivor from Warsaw and then a repeat of the Requiem until the point where Mozart ended because he died; the program was regarded as an expression of reconciliation.[33]

When the "new" Tonhalle Düsseldorf was opened in 1978 after restoration,[23] he also programmed chamber music works there, unprecedented since Heinrich Hollreiser.[32]: 42  He established a second repeat of symphony concerts on Sunday mornings.[23] Music critic Hans Winking (1985) considered him one of the "most distinguished German conductors," who had made significant contributions to contemporary music in Düsseldorf.[23][35]

During his Düsseldorf years, Klee became the principal guest conductor of the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra in Manchester from 1985 to 1989.[2][28] He performed regularly with them at the Proms.[14] His final Proms concert was in 1991.[14] After Franz Welser-Möst did not assume his post in 1991, Klee initially became interim chief conductor of the Rhine-Palatinate State Philharmonic in Ludwigshafen in 1992.[2][36]

Guest conducting in Halle

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After his initial engagement as guest conductor of the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Halle in 1997, Klee was designated to succeed Heribert Beissel as GMD.[37] He assumed a formal guest conducting role in 1998.[2][38] According to Johannes Killyen, Klee "transformed the orchestra into a top ensemble within a few months," but was frustrated by the city of Halle's "mismanagement in the administration and failure to meet certain contractual conditions", which led to Wolf-Dieter Hauschild becoming chief conductor.[39]

Personal life

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Edith Mathis (1969)

Bernhard Klee settled in Switzerland with his first wife, the Swiss soprano Edith Mathis.[6]: 920  He frequently performed as her accompanist for Lieder;[40] a joint recording earned the Deutscher Schallplattenpreis in 1973. Their marriage ended in divorce. Klee's second wife Yvonne was a Swiss psychologist.[4][7] He last lived in Wagerswil and Kreuzlingen in the Canton of Thurgau.[7]

Klee died in Kreuzlingen on 10 October 2025, at the age of 89.[1][23][33]

Premieres and recordings

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Klee conducted the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in the German premieres of Henze's Second Violin Concerto and Heliogabalus Imperator in 1972.[41] He led several world premieres, including works by Wolfgang Fortner (Triptychon, 1978), Manfred Trojahn (Abschied..., 1978), Detlev Müller-Siemens (Passacaglia, 1979), Hans-Jürgen von Bose (Idyllen, 1983), Henze (Ode an eine Äolsharfe, at the Lucerne Festival 1986), Sofia Gubaidulina (Märchenpoem, 1992), Volker David Kirchner (Second Symphony "Mythen", 1992), and Dieter Schnebel (Canones, 1995).[5][42]

Klee conducted complete opera recordings including Mozart's Zaide (1973),[43] Nicolai's Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor (1976),[43]: 316  Lorting's Der Wildschütz (1982),[43]: 237  Mendelssohn's Die Hochzeit des Camacho (1988),[43]: 265  and Mozart's La clemenza di Tito (1989).[43]: 309  The Nicolai recording is considered a reference recording.[44] Furthermore, according to Albrecht Dümling, Klee is regarded as "one of the most knowledgeable pioneers of the Zemlinsky renaissance."[45]

Awards

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Honours
Record Awards

Selected discography

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Pianist
  • 1973: Mozart: Lieder with Edith Mathis. Deutsche Grammophon, Hamburg. OCLC 310820129
  • 1976: Mozart: Lieder with Hermann Prey. Deutsche Grammophon, Hamburg. OCLC 310820129
Conductor

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Nikolov, Raliza (16 October 2025). "Das Gegenteil eines eitlen Pultstars: Musikwelt trauert um Dirigenten". NDR Kultur (in German). Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Slonimsky, Nicolas; McIntire, Dennis (2001). "Klee, Bernhard". In Kuhn, Laura (ed.). Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians. Vol. 3 Haar–Levi (9th ed.). Schirmer. p. 498. ISBN 0-02-865528-1.
  3. ^ "Klee, Bernhard (1936–2025), Dirigent". www.bmlo.uni-muenchen.de. Bayerisches Musiker-Lexikon Online. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d e Herman, Kenneth (22 January 1988). "German Maestro a Champion of Newer Music". Los Angeles Times.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Paris, Alain (1997). Classical Music in the 20th Century. Instrumentalists, Singers, Conductors, Orchestras, Choirs (2nd ed.). Munich: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag. pp. 407f. ISBN 3-423-32501-1.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Lewinski, Wolf-Eberhard von (October 1976). "Erfahrungen eines Gastdirigenten / Gespräch mit Bernhard Klee". Fono Forum. pp. 920–924.
  7. ^ a b c Robert Croan: Conductor Klee. From Choir to Podium. In: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 24 April 1997.
  8. ^ Cohen, Aaron I. (1987). International Encyclopedia of Women Composers (2nd ed.). New York: Books & Music USA Inc. p. 623. ISBN 0961748516.
  9. ^ a b c Sadie, Stanley; Tyrrell, John, eds. (2001). "Klee, Bernhard". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (2nd ed.). London: Macmillan Publishers. ISBN 978-1-56159-239-5. ‎
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Klaus Matthias: Music History of Lübeck in the 20th Century. Church Music and Concert Life. In: Arnfried Edler, Heinrich W. Schwab (eds.): Studies on the Music History of the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (= Kieler Schriften zur Musikwissenschaft, Volume 31). Bärenreiter, Kassel et al. 1989, ISBN 3-7618-0901-8, pp. 177 ff., here: pp. 200f.
  11. ^ Peter Muck: One Hundred Years of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. Volume 3: The Members of the Orchestra, the Programs, the Concert Tours, Premieres and First Performances. Schneider, Tutzing 1982, ISBN 3-7952-0341-4, p. 458.
  12. ^ Artist: Klee, Bernhard. dso-berlin.de; accessed 21 April 2020. Peter Ruzicka: 40 Years of the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra. 1946–1986. RSO, Berlin 1986.
  13. ^ Friedrich Herzfeld (ed.): Das neue Ullstein-Lexikon der Musik. Mit 5000 Stichwörtern, 600 Notenbeispielen. Revised and updated anniversary edition, Ullstein, Frankfurt am Main et al. 1993, ISBN 3-550-06523-X.
  14. ^ a b c Performances of Bernhard Klee at BBC Proms. bbc.co.uk; accessed 19 April 2020.
  15. ^ Così fan tutte - 21 December 1972 Evening. rohcollections.org.uk; accessed 19 April 2020.
  16. ^ Norbert Tschulik: Chronicle of the Salzburg Festival 1973. In: Österreichische Musikzeitschrift 28 (1973) 9, pp. 409f.
  17. ^ 2nd Mozart Matinee – Matinee Ensemble of the Mozarteum Orchestra, Bernhard Klee. salzburgerfestspiele.at 1973; accessed 14 October 2025.
  18. ^ Wolfgang A. Mozart Le nozze di Figaro, archive.salzburgerfestspiele.at; accessed 19 April 2020.
  19. ^ Search in the Concert Archive. musikverein.at; accessed 25 April 2020.
  20. ^ a b Karl Heinz Ruppel: Musica viva Commemorates Its Founder: Bernhard Klee Conducts Hartmann and Henze. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung, No. 279, 3 December 1973, p. 14.
  21. ^ Renate Ulm [de] (ed.): 1949–1999. 50 Years of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. Commissioned by Bavarian Radio, Bärenreiter, Kassel et al. 1999, ISBN 3-7618-1395-3, pp. 143 ff.
  22. ^ Wilhelm Hilpert: The Winner Must Play Without a Fee. Violin Competition for Young Talent at the 44th Würzburg Mozart Festival. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung, No. 133, 13 June 1975, p. 17.
  23. ^ a b c d e f g h "Bernhard Klee ist tot". Tonhalle Düsseldorf (in German). 14 October 2025. Retrieved 14 October 2025.
  24. ^ Joachim Kaiser: Klee – and the Impressionists. 9th Radio Symphony Orchestra Concert in Munich's Herkulessaal. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung, No. 61, 13/14 March 1976, p. 12.
  25. ^ Gabriele E. Meyer: Conductors/Premieres and First Performances of the Munich Philharmonic 1893–1973. In: Regina Schmoll gen. Eisenwerth (ed.): The Munich Philharmonic. From Its Founding to the Present. Wolf, Munich 1985, ISBN 3-922979-21-1, pp. 431–446, here: p. 432.
  26. ^ Erik Werba: Premieres at the Munich Opera Festival. In: Österreichische Musikzeitschrift 34 (1979) 9, pp. 444f.
  27. ^ John Canarina: The New York Philharmonic: From Bernstein to Maazel. Amadeus Press, New York 2010, ISBN 978-1-57467-188-9, p. 91.
  28. ^ a b Carl Dahlhaus, Hans Heinrich Eggebrecht (eds.): Riemann Musiklexikon. In Four Volumes and a Supplementary Volume. Supplementary Volume: A–Z. 2nd, revised and expanded edition. Schott, Mainz 1995, ISBN 3-7957-8359-3.
  29. ^ Harold C. Schonberg: Music: Bernhard Klee Makes Debut at Philharmonic. In: The New York Times. Volume 20, April 1974, p. 16.
  30. ^ Conductor: Klee, Bernhard, archief.concertgebouworkest.nl; accessed 22 April 2020.
  31. ^ Günter Katzenberger, Hans-Olaf Meyer-Grotjahn (eds.): Sofia Gubaidulina. A Homage on Her 60th Birthday. Pfau, Saarbrücken 2000, ISBN 3-89727-120-6, p. 12.
  32. ^ a b c d Hans Hubert Schieffer, Hermann Josef Müller: Neue Musik in Düsseldorf seit 1945. Ein Beitrag zur Musikgeschichte und zum Musikleben der Stadt (= Schriftenreihe des Freundeskreises Stadtbüchereien Düsseldorf, vol. 4). Dohr, Cologne 1998, ISBN 3-925366-64-4
  33. ^ a b c Goertz, Wolfram (14 October 2025). "Dirigent Bernhard Klee gestorben: Mozart, Mahler – und ein denkwürdiges Konzert in Breslau". Rheinische Post (in German). Retrieved 15 October 2025.
  34. ^ "Bernhard Klee". Städtischer Musikverein zu Düsseldorf e.V. gegr. 1818 (in German). 29 April 2015. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  35. ^ Hans Winking: Ein Programm sollte für sich selbst sprechen. Gespräch mit dem Dirigenten Bernhard Klee. In: Neue Zeitschrift für Musik, 2/1985, p. 21.
  36. ^ Bernhard Klee Chief in Ludwigshafen. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung. 12 February 1992.
  37. ^ Andreas Hillger, Johannes Killyen: Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Halle. Kein Handschlag für den Vertrag. Dirigent Bernhard Klee macht Halles Kulturdezernent Karl-Heinz Gärtner für das Scheitern seines Engagementes verantwortlich. In: Mitteldeutsche Zeitung. 17 September 1999.
  38. ^ Johannes Killyen: Staatsphilharmonie Halle. Ausblick in eine unsichere Zukunft. Programm für die nächste Spielzeit vorgestellt. In: Mitteldeutsche Zeitung, 21 March 2000.
  39. ^ Johannes Killyen (1 September 2001). "Visionen und Ideen sind gefragt". NMZ (Neue Musikzeitung). Retrieved 20 October 2025.
  40. ^ Andreas Kotte, ed. (2005). "Edith Mathis". Theaterlexikon der Schweiz / Dictionnaire du théâtre en Suisse / Dizionario Teatrale Svizzero / Lexicon da teater svizzer [Theater Dictionary of Switzerland]. Vol. 2. Zürich: Chronos. pp. 1199–1200. ISBN 978-3-0340-0715-3. LCCN 2007423414. OCLC 62309181.
  41. ^ Peter Muck: One Hundred Years of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. Volume 3: The Members of the Orchestra, the Programs, the Concert Tours, Premieres and First Performances. Schneider, Tutzing 1982, ISBN 3-7952-0341-4, p. 418.
  42. ^ Alain Pâris: Le Nouveau dictionnaire des interprètes. 6th edition. Éditions Robert Laffont, Paris 2015, ISBN 978-2-221-14576-0.
  43. ^ a b c d e Karsten Steiger: Opera Discography: Catalog of All Audio and Video Complete Recordings. 2nd, fully updated and expanded edition. Saur, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-598-11784-8.
  44. ^ Ekkehard Pluta: Short Reviews: Nicolai. In: Fono Forum, 1/1994, p. 82.
  45. ^ Albrecht Dümling: Up to Parnassus. Bernhard Klee and Andreas Haefliger with the BSO at the Schauspielhaus. In: Der Tagesspiegel, 18 December 1993.
  46. ^ ihd: Deutscher Schallplattenpreis. 1973. Die 22 ausgezeichneten Aufnahmen. In: Fono Forum, 11/1973, pp. 1071–1078, here: p. 1077.
  47. ^ Record Award. In: Berliner Zeitung, 2 September 1975, p. 6.
  48. ^ Robert Werba et al.: The 'Wiener Flöten-Uhr' 1976. In: Österreichische Musikzeitschrift, 1976, 32, issue, pp. 50 ff.
  49. ^ Fono Notes. In: Fono Forum, 6/1984, pp. 10 f.
  50. ^ Catalog. orfeo-international.de; accessed 20 April 2020.
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