Karl Wilhelm Jacob Haas (27 December 1900 – 7 July 1970) was a German musician, musicologist and conductor. Haas was born 27 December 1900 in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...

, Germany, where he studied at the Classical College, then at the Universities of

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

and

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

. His first work was at the Dumont Theatre in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

; then as Music advisor for Karlsruhe and

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

radio stations. He escaped Nazi persecution of Jews and settled in Britain in 1939. He worked as Music Director of Old Vic in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, where he composed incidental music and stage scores. Karl was an enthusiast of

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

music and a player of the

viola d'amore The viola d'amore (; Italian for "viol of love") is a 7- or 6- stringed musical instrument with sympathetic strings used chiefly in the baroque period. It is played under the chin in the same manner as the violin. Structure and sound The viol ...

. He edited works of Cherubini,

Boccherini Ridolfo Luigi Boccherini (, also , ; 19 February 1743 – 28 May 1805) was an Italian composer and cellist of the Classical era whose music retained a courtly and ''galante'' style even while he matured somewhat apart from the major European ...

Dittersdorf Dittersdorf is a municipality in the district Saale-Orla-Kreis, in Thuringia, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Rus ...

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...

, Haydn and others. In 1941 he founded the ''London Baroque Ensemble'', which had its public debut in 1943, and continued to play until 1966. Members of the Ensemble between 1952 and 1954 included

Sidney Sutcliffe Sidney Clement Sutcliffe (6 October 1918 – 1 July 2001) was a British oboist. He played in the London Philharmonic, Philharmonia and BBC Symphony orchestras, and was professor of oboe at the Royal College of Music in London. Life and career Sut ...

, Terence MacDonagh, Natalie James (aka

Natalie Caine Natalie Caine (6 June 1909 – 28 December 2008) was one of the first female woodwind players to establish themselves in leading British orchestras. She is frequently referred to by her married name Natalie James. She was born Evelyn Natalie Cai ...

Roger Lord Roger Lord is a Canadian performing classical pianist and professor of piano at l'Université de Moncton in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. Lord studied at Université de Moncton, McGill University, Université de Montréal, and the Moscow Piano ...

on oboe;

Frederick Thurston Frederick John Thurston (21 September 1901 – 12 December 1953) was an English clarinettist. Career From the age of 7 he was taught by his father and he won an open scholarship to the Royal College of Music, becoming a pupil of Charles Drap ...

Jack Brymer John Alexander Brymer OBE (27 January 191515 September 2003) was an English clarinettist. ''The Times'' called him "the leading clarinettist of his generation, perhaps of the century". Goodwin, Noël"Jack B nimble, Jack B quick" ''The Times' ...

Gervase de Peyer Gervase Alan de Peyer (11 April 1926 – 4 February 2017) was an English clarinettist and conductor. Professional career Gervase Alan de Peyer was born in London, the eldest of three children of Everard Esmé Vivian de Peyer, and his wife, Edith ...

, Basil Tschaikov on clarinet;

Cecil James Cecil Edwin James (10 April 1913 – 13 January 1999) was a prominent English bassoonist born in London to a musical family. His father Wilfred (1878-1941) was a bassoonist in the Queen's Hall Orchestra and professor at the Royal College of Music ...

, Paul Draper,

Edward Wilson Edward Wilson may refer to: *Ed Wilson (artist) (1925–1996), African American sculptor * Ed Wilson (baseball) (1875–?), American baseball player * Ed Wilson (singer) (1945–2010), Brazilian singer-songwriter *Ed Wilson, American television exe ...

on bassoons; James O'Loughlin on contra-bassoon; Dennis Brain,

Neill Sanders Neill Joseph Sanders (24 November 1923 – 19 April 1992) was a British horn player, principal horn of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and for 29 years a member of the Melos Ensemble. He was a professor at West ...

, Ian Beers on horns; Vivian Joseph (cellist) on cello; and James Merritt on double-bass. They have accompanied keyboardists

Lionel Salter Lionel Salter (8 September 1914 – 1 March 2000) was an English pianist, conductor, writer and administrator who had a long association with the British Broadcasting Corporation.Sadie, Stanley, rev. Jon Stroop. 'Salter, Lionel (Paul)' in ''Gr ...

Charles Spinks Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

and George Malcolm in works of

J. S. Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

and

C. P. E. Bach Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (8 March 1714 – 14 December 1788), also formerly spelled Karl Philipp Emmanuel Bach, and commonly abbreviated C. P. E. Bach, was a German Classical period musician and composer, the fifth child and sec ...

. They made a number of recordings of Handel, Bach and Boyce, some produced by

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the B ...

. According to Basil Tschaikov, Karl Haas was a fine instrumentalist but a poor conductor. This was evidenced when playing the

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...

Sonatina No 2 for the BBC on two occasions, as the second was by far the better performance. The difference was attributed to his taking a fall after the first, which left his arms in a sling. A recording containing Dvořák's Serenade in D minor Op. 44,

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

's Serenade No. 11 in E flat, K.375 and Serenade No. 12 in C minor, K.388/384a is available on the Testament label. Other recordings of the London Baroque Ensemble were made on the

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

label, now part of Deutsche Grammophon, Parlophone,

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in We ...

and Pye. He had been working on a book ''300 Years of Military Music'' at the time of his death, 7 July 1970 in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Bibliography

*The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music 1996 ed. Michael Kennedy and Joyce Bourne, 2007,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haas, Karl 1900 births 1970 deaths British male conductors (music) Musicians from Karlsruhe German classical musicians German classical viola d'amore players 20th-century British conductors (music) 20th-century German musicians 20th-century British male musicians Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United Kingdom