Karl Leister
Karl Leister is one of the leading clarinetists of his generation, spreading his career across several fronts as a member of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra for more than three decades; as a soloist strongly identified with Mozart, Weber, Spohr, and countless other composers; and as a chamber player who performed with many of the leading pianists, string players, and singers on the international scene. Leister has made more than 100 recordings for a variety of labels, including Teldec, Sony Classical, EMI, Deutsche Grammophon, BIS, Camerata, Orfeo, and others. He has also served as a teacher and founded the chamber ensemble Berlin Soloists.
Leister was born in Wilhelmshaven, Germany, on June 15, 1937. His first musical instruction came from his father, also a clarinetist, who was a member of the RIAS-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. Young Karl studied at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin from 1953-1956. From 1957-1959 he served as clarinetist in the orchestra of the Komische Oper Berlin. In 1959 Leister became a member of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, where he would remain, mostly as the principal clarinetist, until 1993. It is acknowledged that conductor Herbert von Karajan had exerted considerable influence on Leister's style and career.
Early on in his Berlin years Leister branched out into solo appearances and chamber music and also made a number of recordings. In 1986 he founded the chamber ensemble Berlin Soloists, a group whose members came from the Berlin Philharmonic and Berlin Radio Symphony orchestras, as well as from the faculties at the Universität Mozarteum Salzburg and the Hochschule für Musik Köln.
Throughout the 1980s and '90s Leister turned out numerous recordings for many labels in varied repertory. 1993 saw the Teldec release of Prokofiev's Overture on Hebrew Themes and Quintet and the Hindemith Octet performed by the Berlin Soloists, while the following year brought Mozart nocturnes and divertimenti, with Fischer-Dieskau and other artists on Orfeo. These were but two in a continuous flow of recordings with various artists, orchestras, and chamber ensembles.
Leister accepted a professorship at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin in 1994 and departed that post in 2002. He remained active in the new century as a soloist and chamber musician. Among his later recordings is the the 2002 Camerata CD entitled Karl Leister Plays Romantic Clarinet Sonatas, which includes works by Mendelssohn, Reger, Rossini, Nielsen, and Danzi.
© TiVo
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Mozart: Clarinet Quintet K.581 / Brahms: Clarinet Quintet In B Minor, Op. 115
Gervase de Peyer, Karl Leister, Amadeus Quartet
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 jan. 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Reger: String Quartet & Clarinet Quintet
Kamermuziek - Released by Nimbus Records on 1 jan. 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Reger's Clarinet Quintet - Mozart's Allegro
Karl Leister, Philharmonia Quartet Berlin
Kamermuziek - Released by Camerata Tokyo on 16 mrt. 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Complete String Quartets, Quintets & Sextets
Amadeus Quartet, Cecil Aronowitz, Karl Leister, Christoph Eschenbach
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 jan. 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Clarinet & Bassoon Concertos
Karl Leister, Klaus Thunemann, Stephen Orton, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner
Klassiek - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 jan. 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Clarinet Quintet in B Minor, Op. 115 & String Quartet in A Minor, Op. 51:2
Karl Leister, Leipziger Streichquartett
Klassiek - Released by Musikproduktion Dabringhaus und Grimm on 1 okt. 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Spohr: Clarinet Concertos Nos. 1-3
Karl Leister, Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos
Kamermuziek - Released by Orfeo on 14 jun. 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart, W.A.: Clarinet & Bassoon Concerto; Weber: Clarinet Concerto
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 jan. 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Horntrio; Klarinettentrio
Christoph Eschenbach, Eduard Drolc, Georg Donderer, Karl Leister, Gerd Seifert
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 feb. 1969
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Piano Trio in E-Flat Major - Reinecke: Piano Trio in A Major & Flute Sonata in E Minor "Undine"
Karl Leister, András Adorján, Christoph Schiller, Christian Ivaldi, Homero Francesch
Kamermuziek - Released by Tudor on 4 sep. 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Clarinet Sonatas & Trio
Karl Leister, Ferenc Bognár, Wolfgang Boettcher
Kamermuziek - Released by Nimbus Records on 18 mei 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Clarinet Quintet in A Major, K. 581 - Crusell: Clarinet Quartet No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 4
Karl Leister, Pražákovo kvarteto
Kamermuziek - Released by Orfeo on 6 apr. 1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: The Clarinet Sonatas
Kamermuziek - Released by Orfeo on 1 jan. 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Kammermusik für Bläser
Bläser der Berliner Philharmoniker, Karl Leister, Walter Seyfarth, Manfred Preis, Peter Geisler, Norbert Taubl
Klassiek - Released by Orfeo on 1 jan. 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Weber : Clarinet & Bassoon Concertos
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 jan. 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Clarinet Quintet in B Minor, Op. 115
Karl Leister, Vermeer-Quartett
Kamermuziek - Released by Orfeo on 1 jan. 1983
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Romantic Chamber Music with Clarinet
Klassiek - Released by Brilliant Classics on 14 apr. 2023
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: String & Clarinet Quintet
Brandis Quartett, Karl Leister, Brett Dean
Kamermuziek - Released by Nimbus Records on 1 aug. 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Spohr: Clarinet Concertos Nos. 1 & 4
Karl Leister, Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos
Klassiek - Released by Orfeo on 16 aug. 1984
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Weber: Clarinet Quintet, Op. 34
Karl Leister, Alois Posch, The Vienna String Quartet
Klassiek - Released by Camerata Tokyo on 31 okt. 1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Karl Leister Plays Romantic Sonatas
Klassiek - Released by Camerata Tokyo on 30 apr. 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo