Giselher Klebe

Giselher Wolfgang Klebe, born birth_date|1925|6|28 in Mannheim, Germany, is a German composer. He composed more than 140 works, among them 14 operas, 8 symphonies, 15 solo concerts, chamber music, piano works, and sacral music.

Biography

Klebe received musical tuition early in his life from his mother, the violinist Gertrud Klebe. The family relocated in 1932 to Munich, where his mother's sister, Melanie Michaelis, continued the tuition. His father's profession required a further relocation in 1936 to Rostock. Following the separation of his parents, he moved with his mother and sister to Berlin. During 1938, the 13-year old sketched his first compositions. In 1940, he began studies in violin, viola, and composition, supported by a grant from the city of Berlin.

After serving his Reichsarbeitsdienst (Labour Service), Klebe was conscripted to military service as Signalman. After the German surrender, he was taken prisoner of war by the Russian forces, but due to his ill health he was released soon. On 10 September 1946 he married the violinist Lore Schiller; they have two daughters, Sonja Katharina and Annette Marianne. His wife later wrote the librettos for some of his operas.

Having reconvalesced, he continued his music studies in Berlin (1946–1951), first under Joseph Rufer, then in master classes by Boris Blacher. He worked for the radio station Berliner Rundfunk until 1948, when he began to work full-time as a composer.

In 1957, he succeeded Wolfgang Fortner as docent for the subjects of Composition and Music Theory at the
Hochschule für Musik Detmold. He was appointed Professor in 1962; many well known composers were his pupils, e.g. Hans Martin Corrinth, Theo Brandmüller, Peter Michael Braun, Matthias Pintscher,

In 1964 Klebe was appointed member of the West Berlin Akademie der Künste (Arts Academy). In 1965 he received the "Westfälischer Musikpreis" (later named the "Hans-Werner-Henze-Preis"). In 2002, the city of Detmold, where he still lives, made him an honorary citizen.

Works

ources

*Giselher Klebe at the German Wikipedia
*"Klebe, Giselher" by Erik Levi, in 'The New Grove Dictionary of Opera', ed. Stanley Sadie (London, 1992) ISBN 0-333-73432-7
*Michael Herbert Rentzsch (with Erik Levi): "Klebe, Giselher", "Grove Music Online" ed. L. Macy (Accessed Date|2008-03-01), http://www.grovemusic.com

External links

* [http://www.klassika.info/Komponisten/Klebe_Giselher/index.html G. Klebe on Klassika]