Jacques Klein (10 July 1930 – 24 October 1982) was a Brazilian composer and pianist. Born to a Jewish family in Aracati, he grew up in the nearby city of

Fortaleza Fortaleza (, locally , Portuguese for ''Fortress'') is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeastern Brazil. It belongs to the Metropolitan mesoregion of Fortaleza and microregion of Fortaleza. It is Brazil's 5th largest city and the ...

, where he began to study piano at the Conservatorio Alberto Nepomuceno, which was founded by his father. At the beginning of the 1940s he moved to

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of the same name, Brazil's List of Brazilian states by population, third-most populous state, and the List of largest citi ...

, where he studied with Liddy Mignone at the Conservatorio Brasileiro de Musica, where he himself began to teach in the 1950s. At the age of thirteen he temporarily left classical music and set up a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

trio with his friends Dinarte Rodrigues (on guitar) and Breno Porto (on drums). The trio began to perform once a week on Radio Jornal do Brasil, starting in 1946. In 1948 Klein returned to classical music and studied with

William Kapell William Kapell (September 20, 1922October 29, 1953) was an American pianist and recording artist, killed at the age of 31 in the crash of a commercial airliner returning from a concert tour in Australia. Biography William Kapell was born in New ...

in New York City and with Bruno Seidlhofer in Vienna. In 1953 he won first prize at the

Geneva International Music Competition The Geneva International Music Competition () is one of the world's leading international music competitions, founded in 1939. In 1957, it was one of the founding members of the World Federation of International Music Competition (WFIMC), whose he ...

, which launched his international career. In 1954 Klein appeared with the

London Philharmonic The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Thomas Beecham, Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony O ...

. In 1955 he was chosen as the best pianist of the year in London and received the Harriet Cohen Medal. He formed a duo with violinist

Salvatore Accardo Salvatore Accardo (; Knight Grand Cross born 26 September 1941 in Turin, northern Italy) is an Italian violinist and conductor, who is known for his interpretations of the works of Niccolò Paganini. Accardo owns one Stradivarius violin, the "Ha ...

and performed with pianist

Friedrich Gulda Friedrich Gulda (16 May 1930 – 27 January 2000) was an Austrian pianist and composer who worked in both the classical and jazz fields. Biography Early life and career Born in Vienna the son of a teacher, Gulda began learning to play the piano ...

. He taught at the school of music at

Federal University of Rio de Janeiro The Federal University of Rio de Janeiro or University of Brazil (UFRJ; pt, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro or ') is a public research university located in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is the largest federal university in th ...

and at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, ...

. He made a number of recordings of the Brazilian

samba Samba (), also known as samba urbano carioca (''urban Carioca samba'') or simply samba carioca (''Carioca samba''), is a Brazilian music genre that originated in the Afro-Brazilian communities of Rio de Janeiro in the early 20th century. Havi ...

. His students include

Egberto Gismonti Egberto Amin Gismonti (born December 5, 1947) is a Brazilian composer, guitarist and pianist. Biography Gismonti was born in the small city of Carmo, state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, into a musical family. His mother was from Sicily and his ...

, Clelia Iruzun, and Arnaldo Cohen. The Latin American Music Center of

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. * Indiana Univers ...

awards a Jacques Klein Prize for the best performance of a solo piano work by a Brazilian composer in his memory; the prize is worth $500.

References

*Dicionário Cravo Albin de Música Popular Brasileira (in Portuguese) 1930 births 1982 deaths People from Ceará Brazilian Jews Brazilian jazz pianists Jewish classical pianists Música Popular Brasileira pianists Winners of the Geneva International Music Competition 20th-century pianists {{Brazil-composer-stub