Bernhard Klee

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 Bernhard Klee was born in Schleiz, Thuringia, on 19 April 1936 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, eventually serving as prefect. At the age of ten, he heard his first Mozart opera (Le nozze di Figaro), which would shape him profoundly. 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, and Maurits Frank for chamber music. with Mozart's Die Zauberflöte; the soloists at the time included Elisabeth Grümmer, Edith Mathis, Fritz Wunderlich, and Franz Crass.

Lübeck From 1966 to 1973, he held his first leading position as GMD at the Theater Lübeck,

Guest conducting and international breakthrough In 1968 Klee made his debut with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, 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.

A guest performance by the Hamburg State Opera took him to the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland in 1969 with Wagner's The Flying Dutchman. where he collaborated with Pierre Boulez.

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

Klee first conducted in Munich in the 1973/74 season, works by Hartmann and Hans Werner Henze in a musica viva concert. Further performances with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra followed, including at the Mozart Festival Würzburg. Joachim Kaiser was impressed by Klee's performance at a concert at the Herkulessaal in 1976, which "established him as a conductor of distinction." During the interim period between Rudolf Kempe and Sergiu Celibidache, Klee was one of the guest conductors with the Munich Philharmonic. At his first Munich Opera Festival in 1979, he conducted the premiere of Mozart's La finta giardiniera at the Cuvilliés Theatre, directed by .

When Daniel Barenboim withdrew from his commitment to the New York Philharmonic in the 1973/74 season due to an orchestra strike, Klee stepped in, making his debut in the United States at Avery Fisher Hall. Subsequently, Klee was invited to conduct other major U.S. orchestras, including the Big Five. 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. For Wolf-Eberhard von Lewinski (1976), Klee was "an equally musical and intelligent conductor, a precise craftsman, and a sovereign interpreter." While still active in Hannover, Klee led the Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestra from 1977 to 1987, succeeding Willem van Otterloo. 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. 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.

During his Düsseldorf years, Klee became the principal guest conductor of the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra in Manchester from 1985 to 1989. He performed regularly with them at the Proms. His final Proms concert was in 1991.

Guest conducting in Halle After his initial engagement as guest conductor of the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Halle in 1997, Klee was designated to succeed Heribert Beissel as GMD. He assumed a formal guest conducting role in 1998. 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.

Personal life

Bernhard Klee settled in Switzerland with his first wife, the Swiss soprano Edith Mathis. a joint recording earned the Deutscher Schallplattenpreis in 1973. Their marriage ended in divorce. Klee's second wife Yvonne was a Swiss psychologist.

Premieres and recordings Klee conducted the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in the German premieres of Henze's Second Violin Concerto and Heliogabalus Imperator in 1972. 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).

Klee conducted complete opera recordings including Mozart's Zaide (1973), Nicolai's Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor (1976), Furthermore, according to Albrecht Dümling, Klee is regarded as "one of the most knowledgeable pioneers of the Zemlinsky renaissance."

Awards Honours 1995: Honorary conductor of the Radiophilharmonie Hannover 1975: Wiener Flötenuhr for Mozart's Thamos, King of Egypt – conductor 1976: Wiener Flötenuhr for Mozart's Zaide – conductor 1984: Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik, quarterly list 2/1984 for Schumann's Requiem and other works – conductor 2004: Gramophone Editor's Choice; R 10 Classica; Le Timbre de Platine, for Mozart's La clemenza di Tito, live recording from the Bavarian State Opera – conductor

Selected discography Pianist 1973: Mozart: Lieder with Edith Mathis. Deutsche Grammophon, Hamburg. 1976: Mozart: Lieder with Hermann Prey. Deutsche Grammophon, Hamburg.

Conductor 1970: Beethoven: The Creatures of Prometheus. Berlin Philharmonic (Deutsche Grammophon) 1970: Beethoven: The Ruins of Athens and others. Berlin Philharmonic, RIAS Kammerchor; Soloists: Arleen Augér, Franz Crass, Klaus Hirte (Deutsche Grammophon) 1970: Beethoven: Christ on the Mount of Olives. Vienna Symphony, Vienna Singverein; Soloists: Elizabeth Harwood, James King, Franz Crass (Deutsche Grammophon) 1974: Mozart: Flute Concerto Nos. 1 and 2; Andante for Flute and Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra and Karlheinz Zöller. Deutsche Grammophon, Hamburg 2530 344. 1974: Mozart: Thamos, King of Egypt, Staatskapelle Berlin, Berliner Solistenvereinigung; Soloists: Karin Eickstaedt, Gisela Pohl, Eberhard Büchner, Theo Adam, Hermann Christian Polster (Philips Records) 1975: Mozart: Zaide, Berlin State Orchestra; Soloists: Edith Mathis, Peter Schreier, Ingvar Wixell, Werner Hollweg, Reiner Süß (Philips) 1975: Haydn: Symphonies No. 6, 7, 8, Prague Chamber Orchestra; Soloists: Petr Škvor, Oldřich Vlček, Bohumil Bayer, (Deutsche Grammophon) 1976: Nicolai: Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor, Staatskapelle Berlin; Soloists: Helen Donath, Edith Mathis, Hanna Schwarz, Kurt Moll, Peter Schreier, Siegfried Vogel, Bernd Weikl. Deutsche Grammophon. 1979: Mozart: Coronation Mass; Sparrow Mass; Exsultate, jubilate; Ave verum corpus. Soloists: Edith Mathis, soprano, and others, Hans Otto, organ, Bavarian Radio Choir, Regensburger Domspatzen, Staatskapelle Dresden, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. Hamburg, Deutsche Grammophon/Galleria 419 060-1 (partly originally Berlin/DDR, VEB Deutsche Schallplatten, Eterna 1973) 1981: Zemlinsky: Lyric Symphony, Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra; Soloists: Elisabeth Söderström, Dale Duesing (Schwann Musica Mundi) 1982: Zemlinsky: Six Songs, Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra; Soloists: Glenys Linos (Schwann Musica Mundi) 1982: Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 21/22, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra; Soloist: Wilhelm Kempff (Deutsche Grammophon) 1980–1982: Lortzing: Der Wildschütz. Staatskapelle Berlin, Berlin Radio Choir, Berlin Radio Children's Choir; Soloists: Hans Sotin, Georgine Resick, Peter Schreier, Edith Mathis, Gottfried Hornik, Doris Soffel (LPs: Eterna 1984 > CDs: Brilliant Classics 94701, 2014) 1982: Schumann: Scenes from Goethe's Faust. Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestra, Tölz Boys' Choir, Düsseldorf Municipal Music Association Choir; Soloists: Edith Mathis, Nicolai Gedda, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Walter Berry (EMI Classics) 1984: Schumann: Requiem; Requiem for Mignon; Soloists: Helen Donath, Doris Soffel, Nicolai Gedda, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, and others, Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestra ([EMI Classics 1C 067/1467561]): Op. 148 also (EMI Classics 7243 5 65830 2 3) (1996) 1986: Schumann: Complete Ballads. Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestra, Düsseldorfer Musikverein; Soloists: Walton Grönroos, Peter Meven, Walter Berry, Doris Soffel, Ilse Gramatzki, Brigitte Lindner, Josef Protschka, and others (EMI Classics) 1992: Bruckner: Ninth Symphony. BBC Philharmonic Orchestra (BBC Classics) 1993: Bruno Maderna: Grande Aulodia and others. Southwest Radio Symphony Orchestra; Soloists: Han de Vries, Roberto Fabbriciani (BVHaast) 1994: Sofia Gubaidulina: Piano Music. Hannover Radio Philharmonic of the NDR; Soloist: Andreas Haefliger (Sony Classical) 1994: Sofia Gubaidulina: Märchenbild and others. Hannover Radio Philharmonic of the NDR (cpo) 1995: Killmayer: Hölderlin-Lieder. Hannover Radio Philharmonic of the NDR; Soloists: Peter Schreier, Philipp Jungebluth (WERGO) 1996: Mozart: Requiem (Franz Beyer) + Luigi Nono: Canti di vita e d'amore (IPPNW Memorial Concert for the 50th Anniversary of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 1995); Bundesjugendorchester, Riga Academic Choir, Carl von Ossietzky Choir Berlin; Soloists: Barainsky, Kallisch, Randle, Snell (NDR/ARS MUSICI. AMP 5059-2) 2004: Mozart: La clemenza di Tito and others: Bavarian State Orchestra; Soloist: Julia Varady (Orfeo)