Bernhard Klee

Biography

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.

Bio from Wikipedia