Klaus Thunemann

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Klaus Thunemann (19 April 1937 – 29 August 2025) was a German bassoonist and teacher. He was principal bassoonist of the North German Radio Symphony Orchestra in Hamburg from 1962 to 1978 and also performed as a soloist and chamber musician. Thunemann began as a pianist, switched to the bassoon at 18, and left East Germany in 1957 to study in West Berlin with Willy Fugmann. After graduating in 1960 he joined the Hamburg orchestra and won a prize at the 1965 ARD International Music Competition. He made many recordings, including the complete bassoon repertoire, and worked with musicians such as Heinz Holliger, Jean-Pierre Rampal and András Schiff. In the 1970s he also collaborated with jazz players and free improvisers. From 1978 he focused on teaching, at the Hamburger Conservatory, the Hannover Hochschule für Musik, and the Berlin Hanns Eisler School of Music, and he taught internationally in London, Madrid and other places. He retired from teaching in 2006 and was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. He continued to perform occasionally, and in 2008 taught in Madrid at the International Institute of Chamber Music and the Reina Sofía School of Music. He died on 29 August 2025 at the age of 88.