Hans Gerd Klais dead at 95

Hans Gerd Klais, 95, longtime director of the organbuilding firm Johannes Klais Bonn, died June 11. Born December 2, 1930, in Bonn, Germany, Klais grew up in his father Hans Klais’s workshop. After completing his apprenticeship, he took on responsibility for the family business at an early age and continued to run the workshop following his father’s death. He developed a distinctive artistic and technical style, the aim of which was to combine the tonal transparency of historical organs with the expressive possibilities of the symphonic tradition. This synthesis became the hallmark of Klais organs from the second half of the twentieth century.

For decades, Klais shaped modern organbuilding beyond Germany as the third-generation head of the Klais workshop, founded in 1882. From 1957 until he handed over the reins to his son Philipp Klais in 1995, he ran the company and set new standards in the construction and restoration of organs. Under his leadership, significant instruments were built for cathedrals, churches, and concert halls across several continents, including the cathedral organs at Trier and St. Kilian’s in Würzburg, the grand concert hall organ at the Cologne Philharmonie, the organ at the Munich Philharmonie in the Gasteig, the organ at Hallgrímskirkja in Reykjavík, the concert hall organ at Symphony Hall in Kyoto, and the organ at St. Peter’s Church in New York City. Klais was also passionate about the restoration of historical instruments, in particular for his restoration of the bamboo organ in Las Piñas, Philippines. 

Hans Gerd Klais was committed to the interests of German organbuilding, including serving as the chairman of the Bund Deutscher Orgelbaumeister from 1974 until 2000. He was dedicated to promoting the craft, training the next generation of organbuilders and fostering international professional exchange.