Jacques Klein

Origin

Aracati, CE

Years active

1936–1982

Genres

classical music, jazz

Instruments

piano

Biography

Jacques Klein was born in Aracati, Ceará, in 1930, into a Jewish family originally from Alsace. His father, Alberto Klein, was an admirer of classical music and founder of the Alberto Nepomuceno Music Conservatory, and was primarily responsible for introducing Jacques to musical studies. After living in Fortaleza and Rio de Janeiro, where he studied at the Brazilian Conservatory of Music, he initially dedicated himself to jazz in his teens before permanently returning to classical music, refining his training with William Kapell in New York and at the Vienna Academy of Music.

Klein's international career achieved peak prominence in 1953, when he won first place at the Geneva International Music Competition, considered the most important in the world at the time. He also joined the London Philharmonic Orchestra and was voted pianist of the year in the British capital in 1955, receiving the Harriet Cohen Medal. Throughout his career, he formed partnerships with names like Salvatore Accardo and Friedrich Gulda, in addition to traversing diverse sonic universes by composing alongside central figures of national culture, such as Dorival Caymmi.

In addition to his stage performances as one of the most expressive Brazilian pianists of the 20th century, Klein exerted a strong influence on music pedagogy and cultural management. He taught at institutions such as the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and the University of Miami, having trained important instrumentalists such as Egberto Gismonti and Arnaldo Cohen. He also served as director of Sala Cecília Meireles and the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra, remaining active in music until his final days, passing away in Rio de Janeiro in October 1982.