An accomplished concert artist, Klaus Becker studied piano, organ and conducting, and gave concerts, throughout his native Germany. Early prizes in the national music competition “Jugend musiziert” provided scholarships to attend graduate conservatories in Germany.
He studied piano with Ludwig Hoffmann, Friedrich Gulda and Claudio Arrau. Concurrently he studied organ with Leo Krämer, Franz Lehrndorfer and Heinz Umlauff. Invitations to perform during the early years of the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival brought him in contact with Leonard Bernstein, whose musical ideals he continues to adhere to. However, an excursion with his mentor, Dr. John Thomas, to Kenya, Uganda and then The Commonwealth of Dominica--to learn and to provide medical care--ignited his interest in the sciences. Away from the concert stage, Klaus began his medical studies in Germany. Later, after arriving with his young family in the United States, Klaus received a Ph.D. in Molecular and Cellular Biology. Presently, he is active in academic research, all the while moving towards his lifelong goal of combining the advancement of science with music performance. That theme of building bridges between the worlds of science and music continues on a different level, in bringing together the worlds of piano and organ.
From his perspective of music as the image of nature, Klaus intends to present his new insights into the music by Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Liszt and Reger. Currently, he is preparing his return to the concert stage with the help of Luiz de Moura Castro. His upcoming concert dates include Smith College (Northampton, MA), St. Thomas Church (New York City), and King’s Chapel (Boston, MA). Klaus lives with his wife and three sons in Western Massachusetts, where he found his true home. He is represented as a concert artist by Ingrassia Artist Management (www.ingrassiaartists.com).
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Repertoire
Domenico Scarlatti
Sonata D minor K. 1
Sonata A minor K. 3
Sonata G minor K. 30
Sonata D minor K. 41
Sonata B minor K. 87
Johann Sebastian Bach
Italian Concerto BWV 971
Allegro
Andante
Presto
Prelude & Fugue C minor BWV 847
Prelude & Fugue C-sharp major BWV 848
Prelude & Fugue D major BWV 850
Prelude & Fugue E-flat major BWV 852
Prelude & Fugue E major BWV 854
Prelude & Fugue F minor BWV 857
Prelude & Fugue F-sharp major BWV 858
Prelude & Fugue G major BWV 860
Prelude & Fugue A major BWV 864
Alexander Siloti
Bach Transcriptions:
Prelude in B minor from the Clavier Buechlein fuer Wilhelm Friedemann Bach
Adagio from the Sonata for Violin and Keyboard in F minor
Andante from the Sonata for Violin in A minor
Ludwig van Beethoven
Sonata A major Opus 2 Nr. 2
Allegro vivace
Largo appassionato
Scherzo, Allegretto -
Rondo, Grazioso
Sonata Quasi Una Fantasia C-sharp minor Opus 27 Nr. 2
Adagio sostenuto
Allegretto
Presto agitato
Sonata D major Opus 28
Allegro
Andante
Scherzo, Allegro vivace
Rondo, Allegro ma non troppo
Sonata D minor Opus 31 Nr. 2
Largo, Allegro
Adagio
Allegretto
Sonata A major Opus 101
Etwas lebhaft und mit der innigsten Empfindung
Lebhaft, Marschmaessig
Langsam und sehnsuchtvoll - Geschwinde, doch nicht zu sehr, und mit Entschlossenheit
Alexander Scriabin
Etude C-sharp minor Opus 2 Nr. 1
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Moment Musical B minor Opus 16 Nr. 3 Andante cantabile
Moment Musical E minor Opus 16 Nr. 4 Presto
Isaac Albeniz
Prelude Opus 232 Nr. 1 from Chants d’Espagne
Cordoba Opus 232 Nr. 4 from Chants d’Espagne
Heitor Villa-Lobos
Bachianas Brasileiras Nr. 4
Preludio - Introducao
Coral - Canto Do Sertao
Aria - Cantiga
Dansa - Miudinho
Astor Piazzolla
Angel: La Muerte - Resurreccion - Primavera
Portena: Primavera - Verano - Otono - Invierno
Tango Ultimo
Sergei Prokofieff
Sonata Nr. 1 F minor Opus 1
Francis Poulenc
Suite for Piano (1920)
Presto
Andante
Vif
Moritz Moszkowski
Caprice espagnol Op. 37
Johannes Brahms
Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Haendel Opus 24
Rhapsody Op. 79 Nr. 1 B minor Agitato
Rhapsody Op. 79 Nr. 2 G minor Molto passionato
Intermezzo Op. 117 E-flat major Andante moderato
Intermezzo Op. 117 B-flat minor Andante non troppo
Intermezzo Op. 117 C-sharp minor Andante con moto
Franz Liszt
Mazeppa from Etudes d’execution transcendante
Wilde Jagd from Etudes d’execution transcendante
Grand Galop Chromatique3
Grand Concert Solo S. 176