One of the leading German exponents of literary opera * Pupil of Josef Rufer and Boris Blacher * In the fifties and sixties attracts attention with his dodecaphonic works at the Darmstadt, Donaueschingen and IGNM festivals as well as in contemporary music radio programmes * In Raskolnikows Traum (Raskolnikov's Dream, 1956) and a cantata after texts by Hans Magnus Enzensberger (Kantate, 1960), Klebe takes up critical positions on cultural issues * Increasingly reflects on musical tradition eg when a motif from Wagner's Walküre appears in his Adagio and Fugue (1962) or when a theme from Verdi is varied in his String Quartet No.2 (1965) * Giselher Klebe's harmonies are based on serial processes but do not exclude tonal chord formations * Approaches religious issues in works such as Stabat Mater (1964) * The polarities inherent in his music become obvious in his stage works * Klebe's dramatic talent is shown as early as 1957 in his first opera, Die Räuber (The Robbers), which is followed by many more operas as well as numerous ballet scores
