Rolf Kleinert (24 November 1911 – 20 January 1975) was a German conductor.

Life and work

Born in Dresden, Kleinert, the son of a porcelain maker, studied violin, piano at the orchestral school of the Saxon

Staatskapelle Dresden The Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden (), or Saxon State Orchestra Dresden, is one of the oldest orchestras in the world, created by order of Maurice, Elector of Saxony in 1548. Under communist East Germany and until 1992 it was called Staatskap ...

from 1931 to 1933 and conducting with

Fritz Busch Fritz Busch (13 March 1890 – 14 September 1951) was a German conductor. Busch was born in Siegen to a musical family and studied at the Cologne Conservatory. After army service in the First World War, he was appointed to senior posts in two G ...

. Other teachers were

Kurt Striegler Kurt Emil Striegler (7 January 1886 – 4 August 1958) was a German composer and director. Life and career Born in Dresden, the son of a chamber musician at the Saxon State Theatre, he attended the Royal Saxon Kapellknaben Institute in Dres ...

, Hermann Ludwig Kutzschbach and Johannes Schneider-Marfels. He also played the oboe and trumpet. He first worked as a bandmaster at the Freiberg Theatre and as

musical director A music director, musical director or director of music is a person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert ...

and conductor of the symphony concerts at the Brandenburg/H Stadttheater. In 1941, Kleinert had to interrupt his career because he was drafted into the Wehrmacht. At the end of the war, he was taken prisoner in France. From 1947 to 1949, he conducted the

MDR Symphony Orchestra The MDR-Sinfonieorchester (MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra) is a German radio orchestra based in Leipzig. It is the radio orchestra of Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk, the public broadcaster for the German states of Thuringia, Saxony and Saxony-A ...

at the Leipzig radio station. From 1949 to 1952, he took over as music director at the . The

German Democratic Republic East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

first performance of the Polish national opera '' Halka'' was initiated and performed by him. In 1952, he began a long-standing collaboration with the

Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin The Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra (''Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin'') is a German symphony orchestra based in Berlin. In Berlin, the orchestra gives concerts at the Konzerthaus Berlin and at the Berliner Philharmonie. The orchestra has al ...

. First as 1st conductor alongside the chief conductor

Hermann Abendroth Hermann Paul Maximilian Abendroth (19 January 1883 – 29 May 1956) was a German conductor. Early life Abendroth was born on 19 January 1883, at Frankfurt, the son of a bookseller. Several other members of the family were artists in diverse dis ...

. After his death in 1956, Kleinert led the orchestra. In 1959, Kleinert was appointed

General Music Director A music director, musical director or director of music is a person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert ...

in the GDR and took over as chief conductor of the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra. In 1960, he received the title of professor. Due to the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961, the orchestra lost a third of its musicians. The orchestra was on the verge of disbanding. Kleinert and

Hanns Eisler Hanns Eisler (6 July 1898 – 6 September 1962) was a German-Austrian composer. He is best known for composing the national anthem of East Germany, for his long artistic association with Bertolt Brecht, and for the scores he wrote for films. The ...

fought vehemently for the orchestra's existence. Through his intensive commitment in the search for suitable musicians, he succeeded in making the orchestra playable again and preserving its specific sound. Concert tours with the orchestra took Kleinert to Italy, England, West Germany, the Soviet Union, Poland and Bulgaria. He was repeatedly invited by the National Orchestra of Chile, the Philharmonic Orchestras of Belgrade, Leningrad (Petersburg), Moscow, the Czech Republic, Riga, Budapest, Bratislava, Cairo and the RSO Helsinki to guest conduct. Kleinert received the

Patriotic Order of Merit The Patriotic Order of Merit (German: ''Vaterländischer Verdienstorden'', or VVO) was a national award granted annually in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). It was founded in 1954 and was awarded to individuals and institutions for outstanding ...

and the

National Prize of the German Democratic Republic The National Prize of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) () was an award of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) given out in three different classes for scientific, artistic, and other meritorious achievement. With scientific achievem ...

. In 1972, Kleinert fell ill and had to give up conducting. He died in 1975 in Berlin, aged 63, and was buried in the in Dresden. There are about 800 recordings conducted by him in the

Deutsches Rundfunkarchiv The German Broadcasting Archive (''Deutsches Rundfunkarchiv''; DRA) is a non-profit foundation supported by the ARD. It was founded in 1952 as "German sound archive". The DRA covers essential aspects of the development of German broadcasting. Tod ...

conducted by him.Rudolf Kleiner
on www.45cat.com/artist/sympthere are about 800 recordings conducted by him.hony-orchestra-of-radio-berlin-rolf-kleinert-conductor

Significance

"Kleinert was a conductor of the 'true to the works' school, coming from the tradition of Leibowitz, Toscanini and Scherchen. He knew how to elicit tempo, accuracy, clarity and dancing elegance from every score." Dr. M. Meyer, in ''Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester 1923-1998''. An excellent percussion technique, a great sense of sound and an absolute ear were Kleinert's essential qualities.

Recordings (selection)

* Beethoven: '' Konzert für Klavier und Orchester Nr. 2 B-Dur, op.19'', Sol. D.Zechlin/RSOB 1965 * Beethoven: '' Sinfonie Nr. 7 A-Dur, op.92''/RSOB 1965 * Brahms: '' Konzert für Violine, Violoncello und Orchester, a-Moll, op.102'' Sol.Garay, Aldulescu/RSOB 1966 *

Paul Dessau Paul Dessau (19 December 189428 June 1979) was a German composer and conductor. He collaborated with Bertolt Brecht and composed incidental music for his plays, and several operas based on them. Biography Dessau was born in Hamburg into a m ...

: ''Sinfonie No. 2'' (1943)/RSOB 1962 * Dessau: Bach-Variation/RSOB 1970 *

Edward Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...

: '' Enigma-Variations op.36''/RSOB 1971 *

Fritz Geißler Fritz Geißler (or Geissler) (16 September 1921 in Wurzen, Saxony – 11 January 1984 in Bad Saarow, Brandenburg) was one of the most important composers of the German Democratic Republic. The son of Elsa and Walther Geißler, he was raised in m ...

: Kammersinfonie „45“/RSOB 1968 *

Ottmar Gerster Ottmar Gerster (29 June 1897 in Braunfels, Germany – 31 August 1969 in Borsdorf) was a German viola player, conductor and composer who in 1948 became rector of the Liszt Music Academy in Weimar. Life Ottmar Gerster was born some 50 km ( ...

: Konzert für Klavier und Orchester, Sol.S, Stöckigt/RSOB 1959 *

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith ( ; ; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German and American composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advo ...

: Philharmonisches Konzert (Variationen für Orchester 1932)/RSOB 1968 *

Rolf Liebermann Rolf Liebermann (14 September 1910 – 2 January 1999), was a Swiss composer and music administrator. He served as the artistic director of the Hamburg State Opera from 1959 to 1973 and again from 1985 to 1988. He was also the artistic director ...

: Concerto für Jazzband und Sinfonieorchester/RSOB u. Tanzorchester des Berliner Rundfunk 1966 *

Witold Lutosławski Witold Roman Lutosławski (; 25 January 1913 – 7 February 1994) was a Polish composer and conductor. Among the major composers of 20th-century classical music, he is "generally regarded as the most significant Polish composer since Szymanow ...

: Konzert für Orchester/RSOB 1967 * Étienne-Nicolas Méhul: Sinfonie Nr. 1/ RSOB 1954 * Shostakovich: Concerto in C minor for Piano, Trumpet, and String Orchestra op.35/S. Kootz, Krug/RSOB * Schumann: Symphony No. 3 (Rhenish) RSOB 1971 * Leo Spies: Violin Concerto (1953) Sol.E.Morbitzer/RSOB 1955

References

External links

* *
Elektry
(in German) Rundfunkschätze / Dresdner und Leipziger Sternstunden aus Oper und Konzert * Christian Quinque
Musik für eine humanistischere Gesellschaft
(thesis, in German)
Fritz Geißler (1921–1984) / Chamber Symphony (1954)
Breitkopf {{DEFAULTSORT:Kleinert, Rolf German conductors (music) Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in silver Recipients of the National Prize of East Germany 1911 births 1975 deaths Musicians from Dresden German prisoners of war in World War II Chief conductors of the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra

Life and work

Significance

Recordings (selection)

References

Further reading

External links