Gideon Klein (6 December 1919 – c. January 1945) was a

Czechoslovakian Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland became part of Nazi ...

pianist,

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

composer, educator and organizer of cultural life at

Theresienstadt concentration camp Theresienstadt Ghetto was established by the SS during World War II in the fortress town of Terezín, in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia ( German-occupied Czechoslovakia). Theresienstadt served as a waystation to the extermination c ...

. Klein was murdered in

the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

Life

Klein was born into a Moravian

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family in

Přerov Přerov (; ) is a city in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 41,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Bečva River. In the past it was a major crossroad in the heart of Moravia in the Czech Republic. The historic city centre is we ...

and, showing musical talent early, studied piano with Růžena Kurzová and

Vilém Kurz Vilém Kurz (23 December 1872 – 25 May 1945) was a Czechs, Czech pianist and piano teacher. Career Kurz was born in Havlíčkův Brod, Německý Brod, Bohemia in 23 December 1873. He became a professor at the State Conservatory in Lviv and Vi ...

, and composition with

Alois Hába Alois Hába (21 June 1893 – 18 November 1973) was a Czech composer, music theorist and teacher. He belongs to the important discoverers in modern classical music, and to the major composers of microtonal music, especially using the quarter-to ...

(in 1939–40). He was forced to abort his university studies in 1940 when the Nazis closed all institutions of higher learning following their occupation of Czechoslovakia in March 1939. Since compositions and performances by Jewish musicians were banned, his own works could not be performed, though he managed to perform as a concert pianist under several aliases for a time, e.g., under the pseudonym Karel Vránek. Despite those harsh circumstances Klein managed to continue composing. In 1940 he was offered a scholarship at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...

in London, but by that time anti-Jewish legislation prevented his emigration. In December 1941 he was deported by the

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

Terezín Terezín (; ) is a town in Litoměřice District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,900 inhabitants. It is a former military fortress composed of the citadel and adjacent walled garrison town. The town centre i ...

concentration camp, where along with

Leoš Janáček Leoš Janáček (, 3 July 1854 – 12 August 1928) was a Czech composer, Music theory, music theorist, Folkloristics, folklorist, publicist, and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian folk music, Moravian and other Slavs, Slavic music, includin ...

's pupil

Pavel Haas Pavel Haas (21 June 189917 October 1944) was a Czech composer who was murdered during the Holocaust. He was an exponent of Leoš Janáček's school of composition, and also utilized elements of folk music and jazz. Although his output was not l ...

Hans Krása Hans Krása (30 November 1899 – 17 October 1944) was a Czech composer. He was killed during the Holocaust at Auschwitz-Birkenau. He helped to organize cultural life in Theresienstadt concentration camp. Life Hans Krása was born in Prague to t ...

, and

Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian and American composer, music theorist, teacher and writer. He was among the first modernists who transformed the practice of harmony in 20th-century classical music, ...

's pupil

Viktor Ullmann Viktor Ullmann (1 January 1898 – 18 October 1944) was a Silesia-born Austrian composer, conductor and pianist. Biography Viktor Ullmann was born on 1 January 1898 in Cieszyn (Teschen), which belonged then to Austrian Silesia in the Austro- ...

he became one of the major composers at that camp. He gave concerts in secret, but the camp became one of the few in which artistic activity was eventually permitted by Nazis on any scale, if only to deceive the broader public as to their real intentions.Lucy Miller Murray
''Chamber Music: An Extensive Guide for Listeners,''
Rowman & Littlefield 2015 p.237. His works from these years include music for

string quartet The term string quartet refers to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two Violin, violini ...

(similar in tone to

Berg Berg may refer to: People *Berg (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * General Berg (disambiguation) * Berg Ng (born 1960), Hong Kong actor * Berg (footballer, born 1963), Ninimbergue dos Santos Guerra, Brazilian footba ...

opus Opus (: opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera ...

work Work may refer to: * Work (human activity), intentional activity people perform to support themselves, others, or the community ** Manual labour, physical work done by humans ** House work, housework, or homemaking ** Working animal, an ani ...

), a

string trio A string trio is a group of three string instruments or a piece written for such a group. From at least the 19th century on, the term "string trio" with otherwise unspecified instrumentation normally refers to the combination violin, viola and cello ...

, and a

piano sonata A piano sonata is a sonata written for a solo piano. Piano sonatas are usually written in three or four movements, although some piano sonatas have been written with a single movement (Liszt, Scriabin, Medtner, Berg), others with two movemen ...

, among others. Moreover, Klein performed as solo pianist at approximately 15 recitals, and also participated in chamber music performances (member of piano trio, piano quartet). Klein was deported to

Auschwitz Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It consisted of Auschw ...

in October 1944 and then to Fürstengrube, a coal-mining labour camp, in October 1944, less than two weeks after completing his string trio. Klein was murdered under unclear circumstances at age 25 on January 25, 1945, during the liquidation of Fürstengrube, a subcamp of Auschwitz. He had confided his manuscripts to Irma Semecká, his

Theresienstadt Theresienstadt Ghetto was established by the SS during World War II in the fortress town of Terezín, in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia ( German-occupied Czechoslovakia). Theresienstadt served as a waystation to the extermination c ...

girlfriend, before leaving, and they were turned over to his sister Eliška at the war's end. His work was influenced by Alois Hába, Arnold Schoenberg,

Alban Berg Alban Maria Johannes Berg ( ; ; 9 February 1885 – 24 December 1935) was an Austrian composer of the Second Viennese School. His compositional style combined Romantic lyricism with the twelve-tone technique. Although he left a relatively sma ...

, and particularly Leoš Janáček. He used melody from Janáček's '' Zápisník zmizelého'' as a theme in his ''Divertimento'' (1940). Recordings on Northeastern and on Koch International Classics, for example, have allowed modern listeners to evaluate the quality of his compositions of the 1940s.

Selected works

*Four Movements for String Quartet (1936–1938), CHF *''Topol'' (The Poplar Tree), melodrama for narrator and piano (1938) *Duo for Violin and Viola in the Quarter-Tone System (1940) *Preludium for Solo Viola (1940) *Divertimento for Eight Wind Instruments (1940) *Three Songs for High Voice and Piano, Op. 1 (1940) **I. The Fountain (

Johann Klaj Johann Klaj (Latinized Clajus) (161616 February 1656) was a German poet. He was born at Meissen in Saxony. After studying theology at University of Leipzig, Wittenberg, he went to Nuremberg as a "candidate for holy orders," and there, in conjunct ...

) **II. In the Midst of Life (

Friedrich Hölderlin Johann Christian Friedrich Hölderlin (, ; ; 20 March 1770 – 7 June 1843) was a Germans, German poet and philosopher. Described by Norbert von Hellingrath as "the most German of Germans", Hölderlin was a key figure of German Romanticis ...

) **III. Darkness Descending (

Johann Wolfgang Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on literary, political, and philosoph ...

), Czech translations by Erich A. Saudek *String Quartet, Op. 2 (1941) *Duo for Violin and Cello (1941; unfinished) *Male Choruses, arrangements of Czech and Russian folk-songs (1942) *''Bachuri Le'an Tisa'' (Young Man, Where are you Going?), setting of Hebrew text for 3-part female choir (1942) *Madrigal for Two Sopranos, Alto, Tenor and Bass to words by François Villon, Czech translation by

Otokar Fischer Otokar Fischer (20 May 1883 – 12 March 1938) was a Czech literary historian, translator, poet and critic. He was born in Kolín, then part of Austria-Hungary. He made new translations of Goethe, Shakespeare and Villon. He was a professor at ...

(1942) *''The First Sin'', for male voice choir on a Czech folk poem (1942) *Fantasy and Fugue for String Quartet (1942–1943) *''Wiegenlied'', arrangement of a Jewish lullaby, set in Hebrew (1943) *Piano Sonata (1943), PA 9' *Madrigal for Two Sopranos, Alto, Tenor and Bass to words by Franz Holderlin, Czech translation by Erich A Saudek (1943) *''Spruch'' (A Saying) for mixed choir (1944) *Trio for Violin, Viola and Cello (1944) *Partita (Trio for Violin, Viola and Cello in arrangement for chamber orchestra by

Vojtěch Saudek Vojtěch (Czech pronunciation: ) or Vojtech is a, respectively, Czech and Slovak given name of Slavic origin. It is composed of two parts: ''voj'' – "troops"/"war(rior)" and ''těch'' – "consolator"/"rejoicing man". So, the name could be interp ...

)

Remembrance

In Prague, German artist Gunter Demnig collocated two

Stolpersteine A (; plural ) is a concrete cube bearing a brass plate inscribed with the name and life dates of victims of Nazi extermination or persecution. Literal translation, Literally, it means 'stumbling stone' and metaphorically 'stumbling block'. ...

für Gideon Klein and Ilona Kleinová. There is a Klein Trio, playing his music.

Notes

References

*Slavický, Milan: ''Gideon Klein. A Fragment of Life and Work.'' Praha: Helvetica Tempora 1995. (Czech version of the book ) *Kuna, Milan: ''Hudba vzdoru a naděje. Terezín 1941–1945.'' Praha: Editio Bärenreiter 2000. H 7822 *Vysloužil, Jiří: ''Hudební slovník pro každého II.'' Vizovice: Lípa, 1998 *Gertsenzon, Galit: ''Gideon Klein's Songs Op. 1 for High Voice and Piano'' http://holocaustmusic.ort.org/places/theresienstadt/klein-gideon/gideon-kleins-songs-op-1-for-high-voice-and-piano/ *Fligg, David: ''Dopis od Gideona.'' Praha: Nakladatelství P3K 2019. *Fligg, David: ''(Re)Visiting the (Jewish) Archive of Gideon Klein - Terezin, 1941-1944'', in Erik Levi and David Fanning (eds.) 'The Routledge Handbook to Music under German Occupation, 1938-1945.' Oxon: Routledge 2020. *Fligg, David: ''Gideon Klein at 100: A festival and a new biography''. Prague: Czech Music Quarterly 2020. *Fligg, David. ''Don't forget about me: The Short Life of Gideon Klein, Composer and Pianist''. Boydell & Brewer (2022). *Dümling, Albrecht, ed., ''Torso eines Lebens Der Komponist und Pianist Gideon Klein (1919-1945)'', von Bockel Verlag, Neumünster, 2021

External links

Nadace Gideona Kleina - Gideon Klein FoundationMusic and the Holocaust - Gideon KleinPage on Gideon Klein (Jewish Music & Theatre Online)
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20060203101053/http://www.jewishmuseum.cz/en/atony.htm Czech Jewish Museumbr>Concert 7 Candles to commemorate Terezín composers Gideon Klein and Pavel HaasFurther reading and listening on
Terezín: The Music 1941-44
Performance Sheds New Light on Life & Work of Gideon Klein (Prague Radio in English, Czech Radio)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Klein, Gideon 1919 births 1945 deaths Czechoslovak classical composers 20th-century Czech classical pianists 20th-century Czech male musicians Czech classical composers Czech male classical composers Jewish classical composers Jewish classical pianists Czech male classical pianists Musicians from Přerov Czech Jews who died in the Holocaust Czech people who died in Auschwitz concentration camp Czechoslovak civilians killed in World War II Theresienstadt Ghetto prisoners Czechoslovak classical musicians Czechoslovak composers Czechoslovak pianists