The Rudolf Kempe Society
The Rudolf Kempe Society was founded in 1980 by English musicians in memory of the great German conductor Rudolf Kempe (1910–1976), and led for four decades by his widow, the violinist and writer Cordula Kempe. Following Kempe’s own concern for young artists, it supported young musicians through master classes, workshops, concerts and radio recordings in the UK and Germany, and presented its Songs of Apollo word and music programmes at its home, the Kempe Studio at The Muses in Stratford-upon-Avon.
Rudolf Kempe – principal conductor of the Royal Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic and BBC Symphony orchestras, and a celebrated interpreter of Richard Strauss, Wagner and Brahms – rests in the garden of The Muses, beside the River Avon. This website keeps the record of his life and of the Society’s work: its history, the Kempe Archive, the Songs of Apollo programmes, its master classes, and an archive of more than forty concerts and events from 2014 to 2021 with their performers, programmes and posters.
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Rudolf Kempe
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. His relationship with the music scene in England, dating back to 1953, lasted almost a quarter of a century, until his death in 1976.
The conductor – read more -
The Kempe Society
Founded in London in 1980, with a German Branch in Munich from 1982, the Society worked to bridge the gap between the training offered by established institutions and the demands made on young musicians entering the profession.
The Society – read more -
Songs of Apollo
Cordula Kempe’s word and music programmes joined chamber music of every period with drama, poetry and prose, performed by leading actors and musicians – in Stratford-upon-Avon, at the RSC, in London and on the continent.
Songs of Apollo – read more
In memoriam
Cordula Kempe 1942 – 2024
Cordula Kempe – violinist, writer, widow of Rudolf Kempe and Artistic Director of the Rudolf Kempe Society, who devised the Songs of Apollo programmes – died in November 2024.
