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The German organist and conductor, Leo Krämer [Kremer], began his musical education with church music in Trier and Saarbrücken. His organ teachers were Ludwig Dorr, Gaston Litaize and Michael Schneider and his piano teachers were Adrian Aeschbacher and August Leopolder. He studied conducting under Sergiu Celibidache, Gunter Wand and Eugen Jochum. He has been a prize-winner of international organists’ competitions in Austria, Belgium (Flandern Festival, 1967), Germany and Italy (Aosta, 1970).
Leo Krämer performs in concert throughout the world. In 1969, he became director of the Philharmonischen Chor an der Saar. For the last thirty years he has been the Principal Conductor and Organist at the Cathedral in Speyer (since 1971) and is the director of the Speyer Cathedral Days of Music festival. In 1990, he became Domkapellmeister. His greatest achievements as a conductor include his collaboration as Principal Conductor of the Estonian Philharmonic Orchestra (1992-1994)1 and Principal Guest Conductor of the Minsk Philharmonic Orchestra (since 1995). He is also a regular guest conductor with the St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra.
Since 1996 Leo Krämer has worked with the Chamber Orchestra, Honoured Ensemble of Russia. He has toured abroad with the festival, and in St Petersburg he has performed J.S. Bach’s St Matthew Passion (BWV 244) and St John Passion (BWV 245), Mass in B Minor (BWV 232), Christmas Oratorio (BWV 248), Felix Mendelssohn’s Elijah oratorio, and he ran the festival Bach-Mendelssohn: Continuity of Traditions (2000), as well as series of historic concerts featuring music by Haydn, Mozart, L.v. Beethoven, Schubert, F. Mendelssohn and Johannes Brahms. He also gave one of the first solo concerts on the new organ of the Great Philharmonic Hall.
Leo Krämer is enthusiastic about teaching. In 1998 he was appointed professor at the Musikhochschulen in Saarbrücken and Mannheim. He regularly appears as a jury member of several international organists’ competitions. |
