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Born: June 7, 1939 - Tallinn, Estonia
Died: February 26, 2016 - Tallinn, Estonia |
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The Estonian conductor Eri Klas, had his greatest musical influence from David Oistrakh, a great friend of his family. In 1964 he his conducting debut at the Estonian National Opera in Tallinn, where he was appointed music director in 1975 and then was conductor laureate. He conducted the Bolshoy Opera in Moscow between 1969 and 1971, and toured with them to Paris, Tokyo, and Athens. Between 1985 and 1990, he was music director of the Royal Opera in Stockholm.
Eri Klas guest conducted frequently on the North American continent. In 1995, he made his debut at Severance Hall in Cleveland, and at Orchestra Hall in Chicago, after successful appearances at Blossom Center and Ravinia. He has been a regular guest conductor with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra as well as at Hollywood Bowl since his début there in 1991, which also marked his first appearance in the USA. Since then, he has appeared with most of the major North American orchestras. He was equally in demand throughout Europe and Asia, where he conducted a most successful tour of the Asian Youth Orchestra with the violinist Gidon Kremer as soloist. He has conducted orchestras throughout Australia and Mexico. In 1989 he conducted the Berliner Philharmoniker, followed by appearances in Munich and Hamburg, and has collaborated with major orchestras throughout Europe. In Scandinavia his name is closely associated with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and Helsinki Philharmonic, and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. He was Music Director of the Netherlands Radio Symphony Orchestra (1996-2003) and the Tampere Philharmonic, and Principal Guest Conductor of the Finnish National Opera. From 1999 to 2001 Klas was music advisor to Israel Sinfonietta Beersheba, Israel.
Eri Klas was closely associated with leading composers, conducting world premieres of works by Schnittke, Gorecki, Arvo Pärt and a number of Estonian composers. He premiered Alfred Schnittke's Cello Concerto No. 1 (Münchner Philharmoniker, 1986) and Peer Gynt ballet (Hamburg State Opera, 1989), and worked on the diffusion of the Estonian symphonic repertoire.
Eri Klas was also active as a pedagogue, holding professorships at the Helsinki Sibelius Academy (1993-1997) and the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (1997 until his death), where he received an honorary doctorate in 1994. In 1990 he was awarded the Swedish Order of Nordstjernen by King Carl Gustav, followed by the Order of the Finnish Lion, bestowed on him by the President of Finland in 1992, on the occasion of Finland's 75th Independence Day. He was also decorated with the the Estonian Order of the White Star. He was a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. In 1986, he was named the People's Artist of the USSR. An Estonian lightweight junior boxing champion, he was also a member of the Estonian Olympic Committee. |
