KLEMPERER, OTTO

KLEMPERER, OTTO (1885–1973), conductor and composer. Born in Breslau, Klemperer studied in Frankfurt and Berlin. In 1905 he met mahler , who exercised a decisive influence on his career. On Mahler's recommendation he was appointed chorus master and conductor in Prague (1907) and then in Hamburg (1910–12). His next appointments were in Cologne (1917–24) and Wiesbaden (1924–27). He conducted a wide range of contemporary music and offered a less overtly emotional interpretation of the classics than had been common among older conductors. His period as conductor of the Kroll Opera in Berlin (1927–31) was of crucial importance in the development of opera in the first half of the 20th century. He introduced new works by Janaček, schoenberg , Stravinsky, and Hindemith. From 1931 he conducted in Berlin, but in 1933 was compelled to immigrate to the U.S. Klemperer became director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, reorganized the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, and undertook tours to various countries. Illness and accidents interrupted his career, but he returned to the podium in spite of increasing physical handicaps. His next engagements were at the Hungarian State Opera (1947–50) and the newly formed Philharmonia Orchestra in London. In 1970 he conducted in Jerusalem and accepted Israeli citizenship. Klemperer was considered the last of the great conductors in the grand German tradition. His performances were notable above all for their heroic dimensions and his architectural grasp. He was admired for his interpretations of Bruckner, Beethoven, and Mahler. Klemperer studied composition with Schoenberg in the mid-1930s. His output includes several operas, about 100 lieder, string quartets, and symphonies. Among his publications are Erinnerungen an Gustav Mahler (1960) and Klemperer on Music (ed. M. Andersen, 1986). -ADD. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Grove online; MGG; P. Heyworth. Otto Klemperer: His Life and Times (1983–96). (Uri (Erich) Toeplitz / Naama Ramot (2nd ed.)