Paul Klee’s Playlist. A Podcast by the Zentrum Paul Klee
Paul Klee was a painter. But he was also a musician. He learned to play the violin at the age of seven and made music all his life. In his youth he was a member of the Symphony Orchestra of the City of Bern, later he played mainly string quartets and chamber music. He was also passionate about going to the opera and listening to records of well-known works at home. Musical terms appear in his picture titles and he also resorted to the basics of music in his teaching to explain pictorial processes. And we know that he also knew and appreciated the music of his contemporaries. The podcast "Paul Klee's Playlist" gives an insight into the artist's multifaceted musical life.
Episode 1
Johann Sebastian Bach - Paul Klee's musical god
As a teenager, Paul Klee favored playing music by Johann Sebastian Bach on his violin. In Paul Klee's music library, there are violin sonatas and concertos in which he drew numerous fingerings and bow strokes. And in this episode of the podcast, you can find out why Paul Klee described Bach as his musical god.
Music played (excerpts)
Johann Sebastian Bach, Sonata No. 1 in G minor BWV 1001
Johann Sebastian Bach, Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 BWV 1048
Johann Sebastian Bach, Sonata No. 2 D Minor BWV 1004
Igor Stravinsky, Petrushka
Episode 2
The Klee family's record collection
Paul Klee was a painter, but played the violin all his life and, together with his wife Lily Klee, built up an extensive record collection. More than 200 shellac records are kept in the archive of the Zentrum Paul Klee in Bern. In this episode of “Paul Klee's Playlist”, you can find out which works and which artists are particularly well represented.
Music played (excerpts)
Frédéric Chopin, Prélude No. 24, Allegro Appassionato
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Symphony No. 35 in D major KV 385, ‘Haffner Symphony’
Giacomo Puccini, Aria “E lucevan le stelle“ from the opera “Tosca“
Franz Schubert, Trio No. 1 in B flat major op. 99
Igor Strawinsky, L’Histoire du Soldat
Episode 3
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven
Paul Klee was a painter, but played the violin all his life and regularly went to concerts and the opera. He was particularly fascinated by the operas and symphonies of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, while he himself loved playing Beethoven's string quartets. Find out what Paul Klee had to say about this in this episode of “Paul Klee's Playlist”.
Music played (excerpts)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ouverture from the opera “Le nozze di Figaro“
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Violin Sonata in A major KV 526
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Symphonie Nr. 41 KV 551, “Jupiter Symphonie“
Ludwig van Beethoven, Violin Romance No. 2 in F major op. 50
Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony No. 7 in A major op. 92
Ludwig van Beethoven, String Quartet No. 14 in C sharp minor op. 131
Episode 4
Paul Klee and the music of his contemporaries
Paul Klee was a painter, but played the violin all his life and regularly went to concerts and the opera. He was particularly fond of classical and romantic music, but he also enjoyed the music of some of his contemporaries: he greatly appreciated Hindemith and Stravinsky, while Schoenberg and Webern did not seem to have particularly interested him. You can find out more about this in this episode of “Paul Klee's Playlist”.
Music played (excerpts)
Igor Stravinsky, Petrushka
Paul Hindemith, Violin Sonata in E flat major op. 11 Nr. 1
Ferruccio Busoni, Album page BV 272 Nr. 1
Ferruccio Busoni, Ouverture from the opera “Arlecchino”
Max Reger, Violin Sonata in C major op. 72
Episode 5
Opera above all else!
Paul Klee was a painter, but played the violin all his life and regularly went to concerts and the opera. The productions provided him with inspiration for his artistic work and numerous characters found their way into his work. In this episode of ‘Paul Klee's Playlist’, you can find out which operas he particularly enjoyed and what annoyed him about performances.
Music played (excerpts)
Giuseppe Verdi, Aria of Leonore from the opera “Il Trovatore”
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Aria of Blonde from the opera “Abduction from the Seraglio”
Giuseppe Verdi, Aria “La donna è mobile” from the opera “Rigoletto”
Episode 6
Paul Klee as a music critic
Paul Klee was a painter, but played the violin all his life and regularly went to concerts and the opera. As a young man, he wrote music reviews for the Berner Fremdenblatt for three years and was not at all squeamish about the singers and soloists. Find out what he had to praise and criticise in this episode of “Paul Klee's Playlist”
Works played (excerpts)
Gaetano Donizetti, “La fille du régiment“
Ludwig van Beethoven, Ouverture from the opera “Fidelio“
Engelbert Humperdinck, Interlude from the opera “Hänsel und Gretel“
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Serenade No. 13 KV 525, A Little Night Music
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, String Quartet in D minor KV 421
Episode 7
Music in the classroom by Paul Klee
Paul Klee was a painter, but played the violin all his life and regularly went to concerts and the opera. As a teacher at the Bauhaus in Weimar and Dessau, he liked to explain certain principles of pictorial formation using examples from music: beat, rhythm and polyphony are terms that occur frequently. In this episode of “Paul Klee's Playlist”, you can find out exactly what this is all about.
Music played (excerpts)
Johann Sebastian Bach, Suite No. 3 in D major BWV 1068
Johann Sebastian Bach, Sonata No. 6 in G major BWV 1019c
Johann Sebastian Bach, Fugue from “Toccata and Fugue” in D minor BWV 565
Johann Sebastian Bach, Well-Tempered Clavier, Fugue in C minor BWV 847
Episode 8
Paul Klee and the music of the 20th and 21st centuries
Paul Klee was a painter, but played the violin all his life. And he regularly went to concerts and the opera, where he found inspiration for his artistic work. In the 20th and 21st centuries, it was musicians who were inspired to compose by Paul Klee's art and his thoughts on pictorial formation. In this episode of “Paul Klee's Playlist”, you can find out why this is the case and what this contemporary music sounds like.
Music played (excerpts)
Sandor Veress, “Alter Klang” [“Old Sound”] for orchestra
Pierre Boulez, “Structures I” for 2 pianos
Harrison Birtwistle, “Carmen Arcadiae Mechanicae Perpetuum” for orchestra
Theo Brandmüller, “Konzert auf dem Zweig“ [“Concert on the Branch“] for Viola solo
Tzvi Avni, “Fuge in Rot“ [“Fugue in Red“] for mixed choir, clarinet, bass clarinet, piano, percussion
Jim McNeely, “Übermut“ [“Exuberance“] for Big Band
Subscribe to Podcast
Imprint
Speaker: Marianne Keller
Concept: Fabienne Eggelhöfer, Chief curator; Marianne Keller, Head of archives
Production: Alexander Hermann, Mario Reinhard