Eri Klas

Who is Eri Klas?

Eri Klas is an Estonian Jewish conductor.

Klas has mainly worked in the Nordic scene since, but might be best known for his work leading the defunct Netherlands Radio Symphony Orchestra. He premiered Alfred Schnittke's 1st Cello Concerto and Peer Gynt ballet, and has worked on the diffussion of the Estonian symphonic repertory. He is also active as a pedagogue, holding professorships at the Sibelius Academy and the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, where he has received an honorary doctorate.

He has been decorated the Order of the Lion of Finland and the Order of the White Star, and is an UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. In 1986 he was named a People's Artist of the USSR. A former Estonian lightweight junior boxing champion, he is also a member of the Estonian Olympic Committee.