The Estonian conductor Eri Klas died today, 26 February, aged 76. Born in Tallinn, June 7, 1939, he studied at the Tallinn and Leningrad conservatories. Klas’s career began in 1969 at the Bolshoi Theatre, where he conducted for 10 years. He also collaborated with the Estonian National Opera where he was music director from 1975 to 1995.
Eri Klas was the chief conductor of the Royal Opera in Stockholm, of the Symphony Orchestra in Aarhus (Denmark), the Orchestra of the Dutch Radio and the Philharmonic of Tampere (Finland).
Until his death he was the artistic director of the Tallinn Philharmonic and the first guest conductor of the Finnish National Opera.
