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

Szalay Zoltán · FOTO:Fortepan — ID 137716 · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Name
- Paul Kletzki
- Born
- 21 March 1900
- Birthplace
- Łódź, Poland
- Died
- 5 March 1973
- Place of death
- Liverpool, United Kingdom
- Occupation
- Conductor
- Nationality
- Poland
- Fields
- classical music
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Paul Kletzki (born Paweł Klecki; 21 March 1900 – 5 March 1973) was a Polish conductor and composer.
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Authority files
museum · eef731e7-ee74-43a3-b93c-6ed16e367a9f · wikidata · Q31261 · wikipedia · Paul Kletzki
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Paul Kletzki • Native Name — Paweł Klecki • Born — 21 March 1900 • Birthplace — Łódź, Poland • Died — 5 March 1973 • Place of death — Liverpool, United Kingdom • Occupation — Conductor
Biography
Biography
• Illustration — Paul Kletzki, 1957 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
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.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1973
Paul Kletzki died at Liverpool.
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 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

Magyarország, Budapest VIII. a Magyar Rádió stúdiója, Paul Kletzki (eredeti nevén Paweł Klecki) lengyel karmester.
Szalay Zoltán · FOTO:Fortepan — ID 137716

Magyarország, Budapest VIII. a Magyar Rádió stúdiója, Paul Kletzki (eredeti nevén Paweł Klecki) lengyel karmester.
Szalay Zoltán · FOTO:Fortepan — ID 137715
Recordings
• Piano Chamber Music, Magdalena Kling-Fender (violin); Łukasz Błaszczyk (violin); Robert Fender (cello); Adam Manijak (piano). DUX 0974 (2014) • Piano Concerto in D minor, op.22 (1930), Joseph Banowetz (piano), Russian Philharmonic Orchestra/Thomas Sanderling. NAXOS 8.572190 (2010) • String Quartets nos. 1 (1923), 2 (1925) and 3 (1931), Bacewicz String Quartet. Prelude Classics PCL2501000 (2026) • Symphony No. 2 in G minor, op. 18 (1926) and Sinfonia, op. 28 (1928), Mariusz Godlewski (baritone), Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra/Thomas Rösner. MUSIQUES SUISSES MGBCD6289 (2017) • Violin Concerto (1928), Robert Davidovici (violin), Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/Grzegorz Nowak. RPO SP045 (2017)
Primary material
Documents and archives
Institutional database
- MusicBrainz artist record for Paul Kletzki
Scholarly · MetaBrainz Foundation
scholarly publication
- Paul Kletzki as composer, Tempo, 2004
Scholarly · Crossref registry · 2004
reference work
- “Paul Kletzki”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
Institutional database
MusicBrainz artist record for Paul KletzkiMetaBrainz Foundation
Verifiedscholarly publication
Paul Kletzki as composer, Tempo, 2004Crossref registry
Verifiedreference work
Partially resolvedauthority record
Unverified
Further particulars
Held on the record
Further particulars
Open the remaining particulars
Paul Kletzki was recorded at birth as Paweł Klecki. The authorities additionally record the heading Paweł Klecki. His recorded languages were Polish and German.
Identity and origins
Polish conductor and composer
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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