Paul Kletzki (born Paweł Klecki; 21 March 1900 – 5 March 1973) was a Polish conductor and composer.
Biography
Born in Łódź, Kletzki joined the Łódź Philharmonic at the age of fifteen as a violinist. After serving in the First World War, he studied philosophy at the University of Warsaw before moving to Berlin in 1921 to continue his studies. During the 1920s his compositions were championed by Arturo Toscanini; and Wilhelm Furtwängler, who permitted Kletzki to conduct the Berlin Philharmonic in 1925. Because he was Jewish, he left Nazi Germany in 1933 and moved to Milan, Italy, where he taught composition. Due to the antisemitism of the Italian Fascist regime he moved to the Soviet Union in 1936.
During the Holocaust 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 in Milan.
In 1949, he became a Swiss citizen.
In the post-war years Kletzki was a renowned conductor, especially of Gustav Mahler. In 1954 he was appointed chief conductor of the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1955, he conducted the first recordings of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Between 1958 and 1961 he was principal conductor of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. From 1967 until 1970 he was the General Music Director of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande.
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.
Recordings Piano Chamber Music, Magdalena Kling-Fender (violin); Łukasz Błaszczyk (violin); Robert Fender (cello); Adam Manijak (piano). DUX 0974 (2014) Piano Concerto in D minor, op.22 (1930), Joseph Banowetz (piano), Russian Philharmonic Orchestra/Thomas Sanderling. NAXOS 8.572190 (2010) String Quartets nos. 1 (1923), 2 (1925) and 3 (1931), Bacewicz String Quartet. Prelude Classics PCL2501000 (2026) Symphony No. 2 in G minor, op. 18 (1926) and Sinfonia, op. 28 (1928), Mariusz Godlewski (baritone), Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra/Thomas Rösner. MUSIQUES SUISSES MGBCD6289 (2017) Violin Concerto (1928), Robert Davidovici (violin), Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/Grzegorz Nowak. RPO SP045 (2017) Chopin, Piano Concerto No.1, dir. Paul Kletzki, Maurizio Pollini (piano), Philharmonia Orchestra. EMI Classics.
Compositions Genre Opus Date Title Scoring Notes Orchestral 1921 Overture to A Florentine Tragedy by Oscar Wilde Orchestra Won first prize in a composition competition sponsored by the Warsaw Philharmonic, lost. Chamber 1 1923 String Quartet in A minor String quartet Vocal 2 Four Songs Voice and piano Vocal 3 Three Night Songs Voice and piano Piano 4 1923 Three Preludes Piano Orchestral 7 1923 Sinfonietta String orchestra Piano 9 1924 Fantasie in C minor Piano Chamber 12 1925 Violin Sonata in D major Violin and piano Chamber 13 1925 String Quartet No. 2 in C minor String quartet Orchestral 14 1926 Vorspiel zu einer Tragödie Orchestra Chamber 16 1924 Trio in D major Piano, Violin and cello Orchestral 17 1927 Symphony No. 1 Orchestra Orchestral 18 1928 Symphony No. 2 Baritone and orchestra 4th movement setting of a poem by Sung in German; English translation "Sleep, Sleep, O World" Concertante 19 1928 Violin Concerto in G Violin and orchestra Orchestral 20 1929 Orchestervariationen Orchestra Chamber 21 1930 Introduction and Rondo Violin and piano Concertante 22 1930 Piano Concerto in D minor Piano and orchestra Published in 2 piano 4-hand version, orchestrated by John Norine Jr. Chamber 23 1931 String Quartet No. 3 in D minor String quartet Orchestral 24 1931 Capriccio Large orchestra Orchestral 25 1932 Konzertmusik Solo winds, strings and timpani Violin 26 1933 Sonata for Violin Solo Solo violin Chamber 28 1932 Octet Orchestral 30 1938 Lyric Suite Orchestra Orchestral 31 1939 Symphony No. 3 ("In memoriam") Orchestra Chamber 32 Trio Flute, violin and viola Orchestral 33 1940 Variations sur un thème de Émile Jaques-Dalcroze String orchestra Concertante 34 1940 Flute Concertino Flute and orchestra Piano 1940/41 Three Unpublished Piano Pieces Piano Chamber 1943 String Quartet No. 4 String quartet Rediscovered, premiered by Merel String Quartet
References
External links
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