Klein, Richard Rudolf 05/21/1921 - 12/17/2011

German musician, composer and university teacher. The great variety of his compositions includes different genres such as children's and church songs, stage and orchestral music, chamber and instrumental concerts and chamber music.

After graduating from high school in 1940 in a country at war, he was drafted into military service. In 1943 he was severely wounded in combat and as a result lost a leg through amputation. As a result, he had to refrain from his actual career aspiration of becoming a conductor.

His teachers during his studies in Trossingen and Stuttgart included Hans Brehme (piano), Wolfgang Fortner (composition), Hans Grischkat, Karl Münchinger and Bertil Wetzelsberger (conducting) and Philipp Mohler (composition).

In 1948 Klein achieved artistic maturity in conducting and composition, and at the age of 27 was one of the youngest to receive a lectureship in composition at the ''Stuttgart Musikhochschule''. The following year he became a lecturer in music theory at the Northwest German Music Academy in Detmold. Between 1948 and 1950, parallel to his teaching assignment, he took up private studies in twelve tone technique with Wolfgang Fortner.

From 1960 to 1984 he taught composition, formal theory, score and continuo playing at the ''Musikhochschule Frankfurt am Main''. From 1965 as professor. From 1985 to 1996, until the age of 75, Klein taught at Dr. Hoch's Conservatory in Frankfurt am Main.

Over a period of four decades, Klein was a freelance music editor for the Fidula publishing house.