Paul von Klenau

Paul August von Klenau (11 February 1883 – 31 August 1946) was a Danish-born composer who worked primarily in Germany and Austria.

Biography Klenau was born in Copenhagen, where he studied under Otto Malling. Already as a young man he left his native country to study and work in Germany and Austria, among others with Max Bruch, Ludwig Thuille and Max von Schillings. His first, Bruckner-influenced symphony was premiered successfully in 1908 at a Tonkünstlerfest in Munich. Within just five years the three additional large-scale symphonies followed. Later influences include French music, Richard Strauss, and Arnold Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique. Klenau was among Schoenberg's advocates during the 1920s, and Schoenberg attended a concert of his music conducted by Klenau in 1923 in Freiburg.

Reputation Klenau's role under National Socialism has been the subject of discussion. Fred Prieberg characterizes Klenau's relationship with the Nazis as one of mutual opportunism: for the régime, he could be useful as a campaigner for cultural ties between Germany and Denmark; for Klenau this attitude opened doors that remained closed to others. By way of example, Prieberg cites the seemingly unproblematic premiere of Klenau's three twelve-tone operas in a time when twelve-tone techniques were condemned as "cultural Bolshevism".

According to Schoenberg, Klenau once defended his use of the twelve-tone technique as the basis of an opera as an example of National Socialist art, making an analogy with the Führerprinzip, where everything in the piece needed to follow the leader. This, and a political analogy made by Socialist composers, Schoenberg equally derided as "nonsense." He refers to Klenau as "the German composer, Paul von Klenau".

Klenau's musical output, some of which is undergoing recording revival, includes nine symphonies (spanning the year 1907-1945), among other works. The Dacapo label has issued a recording of Die Weise, as well as the string quartets five of the symphonies, the Violin Concerto (1941) and the Piano Concerto (1944).

Works (selection)

Operas Sulamith (1913) Kjarten und Gudrun (1918) Die Lästerschule (1925) Michael Kohlhaas (1933) Rembrandt van Rijn (1936) Elisabeth von England (1941)

Ballets Klein Idas Blumen (1916) Marion (1920)

Symphonies Symphony No. 1 in F minor (1908) Symphony No. 2 (1911) Symphony No. 3 (1913) Symphony No. 4 Dante-Symphonie (1913) Symphony No. 5 Triptikon (1939) Symphony No. 6 Nordische Symphonie (1940) Symphony No. 7 Die Sturmsymphonie (1941) Symphony No. 8 Im Alten Stil (1942) Symphony No. 9 (1945)

Orchestral Paolo und Francesca, symphonic fantasy (1913) Gespräche mit dem Tod, song cycle with orchestra (1916) Jahrmarkt bei London, symphonic poem (1922) Altdeutsche Liedersuite for orchestra (1934) Festsymphonie (1938) Violin Concerto (1941) Piano Concerto (1944) Musik nach Weisen der Minnesänger für Orchester

Choral Die Weise von Liebe und Tod des Kornetts Christoph Rilke cantata (1918)

Chamber music String Quartet No. 1 in E minor (1911) String Quartet No. 2 (1942) String Quartet No. 3 (1943)

Piano solo 9 Pieces (1915) 3 Stimmungen (1918) Sonata in F minor Sonatina in E major