Richard Rudolf Klein
Encyclopedia
Richard Rudolf Klein is a German
composer, musician and teacher. His compositional output is diverse, including nursery rhymes and music for children, choral music and hymns, incidental music, orchestral music as well as chamber music.
in Landau, Germany and learned to play the piano
, the violin
, and the viola
. He later learned the trumpet
and the organ
. He started composing at a young age and as an adolescent had already conducted his own works with his school orchestra on the occasion of school and commemorative events. In 1935, at the age of fourteen, he started performing piano pieces and songs in broadcasts at the former Rundfunk-Sender Kaiserslautern.
His teachers included Wolfgang Fortner
(composition), Hans Grischkat and Karl Münchinger
(conducting) as well as Philipp Mohler.
In 1948, when he was 27, Klein received a lecturing position for music theory at the University of Music in Stuttgart
, and one year later he became lecturer of music theory at the Nordwestdeutsche Musikakademie
in Detmold
.
From 1960 to 1984 he was a lecturer in composition, musical form, score reading and basso continuo at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts
. In 1965 he was appointed professor at the same institution. From 1985 to 1996 Klein lectured at Hoch Conservatory
in Frankfurt
.
For more than four decades Klein worked as freelance music editor at the German publisher Fidula. Klein was committed to a variety of projects, and is a member of the jury for the Alois Kottmann Award
for classical violin playing with the singer Agnes Giebel
and violinist Alois Kottmann
.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
composer, musician and teacher. His compositional output is diverse, including nursery rhymes and music for children, choral music and hymns, incidental music, orchestral music as well as chamber music.
Life
Klein attended the humanistic GymnasiumGymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
in Landau, Germany and learned to play the piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, the violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
, and the viola
Viola
The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
. He later learned the trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
and the organ
Pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
. He started composing at a young age and as an adolescent had already conducted his own works with his school orchestra on the occasion of school and commemorative events. In 1935, at the age of fourteen, he started performing piano pieces and songs in broadcasts at the former Rundfunk-Sender Kaiserslautern.
His teachers included Wolfgang Fortner
Wolfgang Fortner
Wolfgang Fortner was a German composer, composition teacher and conductor.-Life:Fortner was born in Leipzig. From his parents - both singers - Fortner very early on had intense contact with music...
(composition), Hans Grischkat and Karl Münchinger
Karl Münchinger
Karl Münchinger was a German conductor of European classical music. He helped to revive the now-ubiquitous Canon in D by Johann Pachelbel, through recording it with his Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra in 1960...
(conducting) as well as Philipp Mohler.
In 1948, when he was 27, Klein received a lecturing position for music theory at the University of Music in Stuttgart
State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart
The State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart is a professional school for musicians and performing artists in Stuttgart, Germany...
, and one year later he became lecturer of music theory at the Nordwestdeutsche Musikakademie
Hochschule für Musik Detmold
The University of Music Detmold is one of Germany's leading university-level schools of music, situated in Detmold, Germany.- Academics :...
in Detmold
Detmold
Detmold is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, with a population of about 74,000. It was the capital of the small Principality of Lippe from 1468 until 1918 and then of the Free State of Lippe until 1947...
.
From 1960 to 1984 he was a lecturer in composition, musical form, score reading and basso continuo at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts
Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts
The Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts is a state Hochschule for Music, Theater and Dance in Frankfurt and is the only one of its kind in the Federal State of Hesse. It was founded in 1938....
. In 1965 he was appointed professor at the same institution. From 1985 to 1996 Klein lectured at Hoch Conservatory
Hoch Conservatory
Dr. Hoch’s Konservatorium - Musikakademie was founded in Frankfurt am Main on September 22, 1878. Through the generosity of Frankfurter Joseph Hoch, who bequeathed the Conservatory one million German gold marks in his testament, a school for music and the arts was established for all age groups. ...
in Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
.
For more than four decades Klein worked as freelance music editor at the German publisher Fidula. Klein was committed to a variety of projects, and is a member of the jury for the Alois Kottmann Award
Alois Kottmann Award
The Alois Kottmann Award is an international prize for "classical, cantando violin playing". It honours outstanding international violinists. The competition takes place annually in May and/or June during International Days of Music Hesse Main-Taunus Hofheim in Hofheim am Taunus, Hesse, Germany...
for classical violin playing with the singer Agnes Giebel
Agnes Giebel
Agnes Giebel is a German soprano. She was born in Heerlen, in the Netherlands, where she lived the first years of her life. She studied at the Folkwang Hochschule in Essen and made her first public appearance as a singer in 1947. Her career lasted until the 1990s during which she established a...
and violinist Alois Kottmann
Alois Kottmann
Alois Kottmann is a German violinist, music pedagogue, university professor and patron.- Background :Alois Kottmann was raised as one of three children of a silversmith. His mother was very much interested in music so she made every possible effort for a musical education of her children...
.