Hyperion Records

Gideon Klein (1919–1945) was a young man of twenty-two when he arrived in Theresienstadt in December 1941, as one of the Aufbaukommando teams who had to prepare the town for tens of thousands of inhabitants. In Theresienstadt, Gideon Klein was a busy pianist, accompanying performances of Verdi’s Requiem, The Bartered Bride and Brundibár. His compositions included choral pieces, a Piano Sonata, a String Quartet and the String Trio, which he finished just nine days before his transport to Auschwitz. As a young man he passed through the selection process and was sent on to a smaller concentration camp, Fürstengrube near Katowice. He died there in January 1945.

from notes by Simon Broughton © 2013