Klaudia Taev (1906-1985)

Was born the 13th of April, 1906 into a teacher’s family on Saaremaa (Ösel). Her inclination for music and singing became already apparent in her childhood home.

Later on Taev began studies at the Tallinn Conservatoire, where she mastered the secrets of the vocal art under the tutoring of Aino Tamme, the first professional singer in Estonia, subsequently an honorary doctor of the Conservatoire. Her studies were then marked by well-known teachers, such as Varvara Malama, Armanda Abbati and Aleksander Arder.

Though a great singing career was predicted for Taev, it remained short due to a stroke of fate - after an illness she lost her voice and afterwards in her work she focused on teaching.

During World War II she taught voice placing in the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic’s national ensembles of arts in Yaroslavl, where also Georg Ots took lessons from her.

Returning to Estonia she then settled down in Pärnu, where she became increasingly active in her field of work. From 1944 to 1950 she was the vocal teacher for the Endla Theatre’s operatic company as well as a singing teacher in the Pärnu Music School until 1954. After the closing of the singing class Taev gave private lessons and took part in the work of several cultural centers, teaching soloists, ensembles and choirs.

Klaudia Taev stood out as a teacher with results both in quality as well as quantity. Nobody knows the exact number of people having learned singing under her teaching, for that number is colossal. Famous Estonian singers, such as Urve Tauts, Silvia Vestman, Viktor Gurjev, Hans Miilberg, Asta Vihandi and many others were amongst her students.

Klaudia Taev, having lived an energetic life abounding in deeds, passed away the 7th of June, 1985, due to an illness.