The ultimate demand made on a genious is love of truth.

As we commemorate Rudolf Kempe we pay tribute to an artist who as a musician and human being radiated the finest of qualities gracing the greatest of talents - truthfulness.

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Patron of the Rudolf Kempe Society 1978 to 2012
Rudolf Kempe

No conductor sought fame less and found it more readily.

Edward Greenfield Music Critic

Rudolf Kempe was a musician of the utmost integrity. Totally and consistently at the service of the music he was interpreting. His qualities are rare indeed, and his relatively early death was tragic.

Robert Ponsonby BBC Controller of Music

Dear Friends,

It is with regret that we have to announce the closure of the Rudolf Kempe Society (RKS). After 40 illustrious years, the RKS - passionately driven by its Artistic Director, Cordula Kempe, widow of the esteemed German conductor - has succumbed to the pressures of the Covid-19 pandemic, and is unable to continue.

The UK branch of the Society was founded in 1980 by English musicians and later, under the directorship of Mrs Kempe, supported by her committee, became a beacon of quality in classical performance, providing a unique blend of words and music in the intimate setting of The Muses studio in Stratford-upon Avon.

Musicians from top orchestras in the UK and abroad played alongside leading names from stage and screen - particularly the Royal Shakespeare Company - to delight audiences with a wide-ranging programme, created by Mrs Kempe, in the Songs of Apollo series.

A distinctive feature of the Society was its support of young musicians, through master classes and workshops, and by affording them opportunities for concerts and radio recordings both in the UK and in Germany. The concerts in Stratford, especially, provided a unique showcase for their talents.

You can read more about the Society, whose patron is the iconic actor Dame Judy Dench, by clicking here (https://www.rudolfkempeSociety.org/Society) and Rudolf Kempe here (https://www.rudolfkempeSociety.org/conductor).

Heart-felt thanks from The Muses go to all friends and supporters who have attended concerts over the years (sometimes travelling from far and wide), made generous donations, and actively helped to keep the memory of Rudolf Kempe alive.

Your commitment and enthusiasm is much appreciated.

While the Society has had to wind down - it has been officially removed from the Charity Commission register – Kempe’s legacy nevertheless lives on, both in the physical archive of the great conductor’s work, now housed in the Staatskapelle in Dresden (State Orchestra of Dresden), and in the memory of those who have enjoyed the entertaining, informative and often deeply moving, experience of attending concerts in what is a very special setting at the heart of Shakespeare’s home town.

Cordula and the RKS committee hope you carry cherished memories of your visits to The Muses and wish you all a Merry Christmas, in these still-difficult times, and a happy, prosperous and, above all, Covid-safe New Year.

Rudolf Kempe, Principal Conductor to some of the leading orchestras and opera houses in Europe, was one of the last representatives of the great German conducting tradition of the 19th and 20th centuries. Throughout the world he was highly regarded for his baton technique which in its brilliance and clarity was second to none; for the authenticity of his interpretations of an uncommonly wide repertoire in both opera and concert; for his qualities as an educator and guiding spirit of orchestras; and for his integrity as a musician and as a man. His relationship with the music scene in England, dating back to 1953, was extraordinary. It was based on mutual respect between him and the musicians, and on a deep understanding of mentality and shared artistic aims. It lasted almost a quarter of a century, until his death in 1976.

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The Rudolf Kempe Society, founded in London in 1980, and its German Branch, launched in Munich in 1982, are both registered charities which, through a variety of activities in England and Germany, work independently as well as through an exchange scheme towards the same goal in professional education: to bridge the gap between the means of training generally offered by established institutions and the ever-increasing demands made on young musicians entering the profession.