At the age of 19 German clarinetist Karl Leister (born 1937) was appointed solo clarinet at the Berlin Comic Opera. In 1959, Maestro Herbert von Karajan appointed him principal clarinetist of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. During his 35 year tenure in Berlin Leister also performed regularly as an international soloist and chamber musician, collaborating with many of the leading musicians and conductors. He retired from the Berlin PO in 1993 to devote his time to solo performing around the world and teaching at the Royal Academy of Music in London and the German Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler.