# Paul Kletzki

Paul Kletzki (born Paweł Klecki; 21 March 1900 – 5 March 1973) was a Polish conductor and composer.

## Biography

Born in Łódź, Kletzki joined the Łódź Philharmonic at the age of fifteen as a violinist. After serving in the First World War, he studied philosophy at the University of Warsaw before moving to Berlin in 1921 to continue his studies. During the 1920s his compositions were championed by Arturo Toscanini; and Wilhelm Furtwängler, who permitted Kletzki to conduct the Berlin Philharmonic in 1925. Because he was Jewish, he left Nazi Germany in 1933 and moved to Milan, Italy, where he taught composition. Due to the antisemitism of the Italian Fascist regime he moved to the Soviet Union in 1936.
During the Holocaust a number of Kletzki's family were murdered by the Nazis including his parents and his sister. In 1946, he participated in the reopening of La Scala in Milan.
In 1949, he became a Swiss citizen.
In the post-war years Kletzki was a renowned conductor, especially of Gustav Mahler. In 1954 he was appointed chief conductor of the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1955, he conducted the first recordings of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Between 1958 and 1961 he was principal conductor of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. From 1967 until 1970 he was the General Music Director of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande.
He died on 5 March 1973 at 72 years of age after collapsing during a rehearsal at the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.

## Work

Most of Paul Kletzki's compositions were thought to be destroyed during World War II. However, during excavations in Milan in 1965, a chest was found containing the scores he had left in the basement of the Hotel Metropole in 1941. Kletzki, fearing his scores had turned to dust, did not open the chest. Upon his death in 1973 his wife, Yvonne, opened the chest finding his scores well-preserved.
Kletzki's most notable work is his Third Symphony, completed in October 1939, with the subtitle 'In memoriam'. It is an elegiac work interpreted as a moving monument to the victims of Nazism. Other works include three string quartets, a Sinfonietta for strings, a Fantasy for piano, and a sonata for violin and piano. From 1942 onwards Kletzki wrote no more compositions; he argued that Nazism had destroyed his spirit and his will to compose.

## Compositions

| Genre | Opus | Date | Title | Scoring | Notes |
| Orchestral | | 1921 | Overture to A Florentine Tragedy by Oscar Wilde | Orchestra | Won first prize in a composition competition sponsored by the Warsaw Philharmonic, lost. |
| Chamber | 1 | 1923 | String Quartet in A minor | String quartet | |
| Vocal | 2 | | Four Songs | Voice and piano | |
| Vocal | 3 | | Three Night Songs | Voice and piano | |
| Piano | 4 | 1923 | Three Preludes | Piano | |
| Orchestral | 7 | 1923 | Sinfonietta | String orchestra | |
| Piano | 9 | 1924 | Fantasie in C minor | Piano | |
| Chamber | 12 | 1925 | Violin Sonata in D major | Violin and piano | |
| Chamber | 13 | 1925 | String Quartet No. 2 in C minor | String quartet | |
| Orchestral | 14 | 1926 | Vorspiel zu einer Tragödie | Orchestra | |
| Chamber | 16 | 1924 | Trio in D major | Piano, Violin and cello | |
| Orchestral | 17 | 1927 | Symphony No. 1 | Orchestra | |
| Orchestral | 18 | 1928 | Symphony No. 2 | Baritone and orchestra | 4th movement setting of a poem by Karl Stamm [de] Sung in German; English translation "Sleep, Sleep, O World" |
| Concertante | 19 | 1928 | Violin Concerto in G | Violin and orchestra | |
| Orchestral | 20 | 1929 | Orchestervariationen | Orchestra | |
| Chamber | 21 | 1930 | Introduction and Rondo | Violin and piano | |
| Concertante | 22 | 1930 | Piano Concerto in D minor | Piano and orchestra | Published in 2 piano 4-hand version, orchestrated by John Norine Jr. |
| Chamber | 23 | 1931 | String Quartet No. 3 in D minor | String quartet | |
| Orchestral | 24 | 1931 | Capriccio | Large orchestra | |
| Orchestral | 25 | 1932 | Konzertmusik | Solo winds, strings and timpani | |
| Violin | 26 | 1933 | Sonata for Violin Solo | Solo violin | |
| Chamber | 28 | 1932 | Octet | | |
| Orchestral | 30 | 1938 | Lyric Suite | Orchestra | |
| Orchestral | 31 | 1939 | Symphony No. 3 ("In memoriam") | Orchestra | |
| Chamber | 32 | | Trio | Flute, violin and viola | |
| Orchestral | 33 | 1940 | Variations sur un thème de Émile Jaques-Dalcroze | String orchestra | |
| Concertante | 34 | 1940 | Flute Concertino | Flute and orchestra | |
| Piano | | 1940/41 | Three Unpublished Piano Pieces | Piano | |
| Chamber | | 1943 | String Quartet No. 4 | String quartet | Rediscovered, premiered by Merel String Quartet |