Alex Klein

Alex Klein spent many years as principal oboist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra while accumulating an extensive discography. He also serves as artistic director for multiple festivals and has sustained an active schedule of concerts and recordings, among them the 2022 release When There Are No Words... Revolutionary Works for Oboe and Piano.

Born in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in 1964, Klein spent his childhood in Curitiba. Drawn at once to the oboe, he lacked immediate means to acquire one, so at age nine he began recorder lessons and separately practiced the instrument’s finicky reed at home, much to the irritation of those nearby. Rapid advancement followed; at 11 he entered the Brazilian chamber ensemble Camerata Antigua. As a teenager he appeared frequently across Brazil before relocating to the United States to study at the Oberlin Conservatory under James Caldwell, where he earned both a bachelor’s degree in music and an artist diploma. Career momentum increased through competition victories, including first prize at the Lucarelli International Competition for Solo Oboe Players held at New York’s Carnegie Hall and the 1988 International Competition for Musical Performers at the Geneva International Music Competition in Geneva, Switzerland—the first time an oboist had claimed the top award since Heinz Holliger. From 1992 to 1994 Klein taught at the University of Washington and performed throughout the Seattle region. In 1995 he assumed the principal oboe chair of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and settled in Chicago. Beyond numerous orchestral recordings, he launched a solo series on the Cedille label; his debut, Oboe Concertos of the Classical Era, appeared in 1999 with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Paul Freeman. Two years later he received a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Performance for the Chicago Symphony’s account of Richard Strauss’ Oboe Concerto.

Klein also performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, and the Chicago Sinfonietta, yet focal dystonia began to affect his playing during this time. He relinquished his Chicago Symphony position in 2005 yet persisted with concerts and recordings by adapting his technique to the condition. A Cedille album of Vivaldi oboe concertos was issued in 2010. He rejoined the Chicago Symphony in 2016 but left again the next year. In 2018 he became principal oboist of the Calgary Philharmonic, a post he retained into the early 2020s. Joined by longtime collaborator Phillip Bush, he released Twentieth Century Oboe Sonatas on Cedille in 2019; When There Are No Words... Revolutionary Works for Oboe and Piano followed in 2022. Klein has held teaching posts at Oberlin College and Northwestern University. He directs festivals in Brazil, the United States, and the French Antilles.