composer musician pianist teacher
Bruno Oscar Klein was born on June 06, 1858 in Osnabrück, Hanover, Germany, the third of five children of Karl and Mathilde von Warnecke Klein. His father, a distinguished musician--conductor, pianist, and organist at the cathedral at Osnabrück--instructed his children in music. An older son, Bernhard, became a prominent organist in Philadelphia and a composer of much Catholic Church music.
At the age of twelve, Bruno Oscar played the Mozart sonatas from memory and was able to read almost any music at sight. He was granduated from the Gymnasium, where he took special honors in Latin and Greek, but he decided to follow music as a profession and entered the Munich Conservatory in 1875. He became a student of Carl Baermann in piano, of Rheinberger in counterpoint, and of Wüllner in orchestration. He completed his studied in 1877.
In 1877 Klein visited his brother in Philadelphia and was so impressed with the new country that, after spending a short time in Germany, he decided to make America his home. He returned in 1878 and for five years toured the country as a concert pianist, in 1879 with the violinist Wilhemj. In 1884 he took up permanent residence in New York and for many years was organist of Jesuit churches. From 1884 until his death he was head of the piano department of the Convent of the Sacred Heart, New York City.
From 1887 to 1892 he was professor of counterpoint and composition at the National Conservatory, to which position he was called on recommendation of Rafael Joseffy and William Mason. During 1894-1895 he gave concerts in Germany. While he wrote numerous small pieces before going to New York, his first large work was sonata for piano and violin (opus 10), which was composed in 1883 and dedicated to William Mason. Thereafter he produced numerous works, among them a piano concerto in E minor (four movements), dedicated to Rafael Joseffy (who had performed many of Klein's works), a "Conzertstück" for piano and orchestra dedicated to Emil Liebling, a suite for piano (opus 25) in five movements. His orchestral works include two overtures and several violin compositions with orchestral accompaniment ("Romanza" and "Spinnlied, " and "Ballade" in D minor). He composed also many short piano pieces, all of poetic content.
His largest work was his one opera, Kenilworth, after Scott's novel, which had its first performance in Hamburg on February 13, 1895, with a splendid cast including Katharina Klafsky in the role of Amy Robsart. He composed much music for the Catholic Church, including six masses. While his compositions appeared often on programs during the eighties and nineties they lost their popularity, though many of them remain useful teaching pieces. As a pianist, he had an adequate technique and a fine quality of tone and was among the best performers in America; as an accompanist he excelled, for he could make any transposition at sight.
Bruno Oscar Klein was noted for his compositions for orchestra, for his chamber music and church music. He was most prolific as a song writer, having published over eighty songs. One of his best works was a well-written sonata for piano and violin. His quintet for soprano, violin, cello, horn, and piano ranked especially high as a representative work and was unique in form.
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On January 31, 1880, Klein married Emmy Schaefer, a German pianist, a graduate of the Leipzig Conservatory.
