Paul Kletzki (born Paweł Klecki; 21 March 1900 – 5 March 1973) was a Polish conductor and composer.

Biography

Born in

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of canti ...

, Kletzki joined the

Łódź Philharmonic The ''Arthur Rubinstein'' ''Łódź Philharmonic'' ( pl, Filharmonia Łódzka) is a professional symphony orchestra based in Łódź, Poland. It was founded in 1915 by composer and conductor Tadeusz Mazurkiewicz and Gotliba Teschnera, a cello instr ...

at the age of fifteen as a violinist. After serving in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he studied philosophy at the

University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw ( pl, Uniwersytet Warszawski, la, Universitas Varsoviensis) is a public university in Warsaw, Poland. Established in 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country offering 37 different fields of ...

before moving to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

in 1921 to continue his studies. During the 1920s his compositions were championed by

Arturo Toscanini Arturo Toscanini (; ; March 25, 1867January 16, 1957) was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the late 19th and early 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orch ...

; and

Wilhelm Furtwängler Gustav Heinrich Ernst Martin Wilhelm Furtwängler ( , , ; 25 January 188630 November 1954) was a German conductor and composer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century. He was a major ...

, who permitted Kletzki to conduct the

Berlin Philharmonic The Berlin Philharmonic (german: Berliner Philharmoniker, links=no, italic=no) is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. History The Berlin Philharmonic was fo ...

in 1925. Because he was Jewish, he left

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

in 1933 and moved to Milan, Italy, where he taught composition. Due to the

anti-semitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

of the Italian Fascist regime he moved to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

in 1936. During the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

a number of Kletzki's family were murdered by the Nazis including his parents and his sister. In 1946, he participated in the reopening of

La Scala La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...

in Milan. In 1949, he became a Swiss citizen. In the post-war years Kletzki was a renowned conductor, especially of

Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

. In 1954 he was appointed chief conductor of the

Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra Royal Liverpool Philharmonic is a music organisation based in Liverpool, England, that manages a professional symphony orchestra, a concert venue, and extensive programmes of learning through music. Its orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmon ...

. In 1955, he conducted the first recordings of the

Israel Philharmonic Orchestra The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (abbreviation IPO; Hebrew: התזמורת הפילהרמונית הישראלית, ''ha-Tizmoret ha-Filharmonit ha-Yisra'elit'') is an Israeli symphony orchestra based in Tel Aviv. Its principal concert venue ...

. Between 1958 and 1961 he was principal conductor of the

Dallas Symphony Orchestra The Dallas Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Dallas, Texas. Its principal performing venue is the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in the Arts District of downtown Dallas. History The orchestra traces its origins to a ...

. From 1967 until 1970 he was the General Music Director of the

Orchestre de la Suisse Romande The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (OSR) is a Swiss symphony orchestra, based in Geneva at the Victoria Hall. In addition to symphony concerts, the OSR performs as the opera orchestra in productions at the Grand Théâtre de Genève. History Er ...

. He died on 5 March 1973 at 72 years of age after collapsing during a rehearsal at the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.

Work

Most of Paul Kletzki's compositions were thought to be destroyed during World War II. However, during excavations in Milan in 1965, a chest was found containing the scores he had left in the basement of the Hotel Metropole in 1941. Kletzki, fearing his scores had turned to dust, did not open the chest. Upon his death in 1973 his wife, Yvonne, opened the chest finding his scores well-preserved. Kletzki's most notable work is his Third Symphony, completed in October 1939, with the subtitle 'In memoriam'. It is an elegiac work interpreted as a moving monument to the victims of Nazism. Other works include three string quartets,, lists 3 string quartets, Op. 1 in A minor, Op. 13 in C minor, Op. 23 in D minor, copyright 1923, 1925, 1931. a Sinfonietta for strings, a Fantasy for piano, and a sonata for violin and piano. From 1942 onwards Kletzki wrote no more compositions; he argued that Nazism had destroyed his spirit and his will to compose.

Compositions

References

External links

*
Kletzki biography
at NAXOS.com
Discography
*Wojciech Wendland
"The Three Musketeers from Łódź: Tansman, Tuwim and Kletzki"
pp. 16–19, in:
9th International Festival and Competition of Musical Personalities – Tansman 2012
' (in Polish and English), Tansman Philharmonic, Łódź {{DEFAULTSORT:Kletzki, Paul 1900 births 1973 deaths 20th-century classical composers 20th-century conductors (music) 20th-century male musicians Jewish classical composers Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to Italy Lausanne Conservatory faculty Male conductors (music) Polish classical composers Polish conductors (music) Polish emigrants to Switzerland Polish expatriates in Germany Polish expatriates in Italy Polish expatriates in Russia 20th-century Polish Jews Polish male classical composers Pupils of Heinrich Schenker Texas classical music Musicians from Łódź