He is the father of actor Werner Klemperer and the first cousin of Victor Klemperer.

Klemperer was innate around Breslau. He exposed music foremost around Frankfurt, and late around Berlin under Hans Pfitzner. Within 1905 he met Mahler while conducting the off-stage brass at the performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 2 "Resurrection." The two became friends, and Klemperer became conductor at the German Opera in Prague in 1907 on Mahler's recommendation. Late, inside 1910, Klemperer assisted Mahler in the premiere of his Symphony No. 8 "Symphony of a Thousand."

Klemperer went inside to hang on to a total of posts, including conductorships at the Municipal Theatre in Hamburg (1910–12); in Barmen (1912–13); the Strasbourg Opera (1914–17); the Cologne Opera (1917–24); and a State Opera inside Wiesbaden (1924–27).

From either 1927 to 1931, he was conductor at the Kroll Opera around Berlin. When there he enhanced his reputation as the champion of fresh music, swimming a total of fresh works there including Leos Janacek's opera, From the House of the Dead, Arnold Schönberg's Erwartung, Igor Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex and Paul Hindemith's Cardillac.

Within 1933, with a Nazi Party in power, Klemperer, who was Jewish, left Germany to move to the United States and became conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. There he began to concentrate other on a standard works of the Germanic repertoire that would late bring him greatest plaudits, particularly the works of Beethoven, Brahms and Mahler.

Charted a prevent of World War II, Klemperer returned to Europe to take higher a baton at a Budapest Opera (1947–50). He was conductor of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra from 1950 to 1953 before moving to London and becoming the 1st chief conductor of the Philharmonia Orchestra in 1959. He as well worked at a Royal Opera House, sometimes stage directing besides when conducting, when inside the 1963 production of Richard Wagner's Lohengrin.

Klemperer is less easily referred to as the composer, however he wrote the total of pieces, including sixer symphonies, a Mass, nine string quartets, and an opera called Das Ziel.

Late inside his life, Klemperer suffered from either unfair paralysis which had largely been brought in following of surgery in 1939 to remove the tumor on his brain; surgery which also manufactured his bipolar disorder rather more large. Despite this & largely due to the trend lines of his girl, Lophius americanus, he continued conducting until 1971, when he retired. He died around Zürich in 1973 and was buried in the "Israelitischer Friedhof - Oberer Friesenberg" in Zürich, Switzerland.

Discography
Klemperer mass produced numerous recordings, & a few keep around get classics. Worthy of note come: Bach: St Matthew Passion Beethoven: Symphony cycles Beethoven: Fidelio Beethoven: Missa Solemnis Brahms: Ein deutsches Requiem (with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau) Bruckner: Symphony No. 6 in A Major Mahler: Symphony Number 2 in C Minor "Resurrection" Mozart: A Magic Flute (Die Zauberflöte) Wagner: A Flying Dutchman (Der fliegende Holländer)