[Granate]

Lately, revising some conductors that were going to feature in my Beethoven Challenge, I came across some symphonies conducted by Otto Klemperer, famous for the "architecture" of his cycle. I have read that it has been out-of-fashion, but I enjoyed some movements of the Eroica. Also, Mozart 29, Schubert 9 and Haydn 88 had some play to my own good impression.

I should be patient. From these Klemperer recordings I already own a "Recordings of the Century" CD of the Missa Solemnis and the Mahler box.

I had positive impressions too from streaming his Bach (Matthäus Passion and the Brandenburg concertos) and Brahms' Requiem a long time ago. I like some of his Bruckner recordings (4,6,8). When I did the first Mozart symphonies challenge, he had better recordings for me than Karajan EMI or Böhm, but stayed far from Gardiner Philips. I'm not very fond of the Höllander, the Zauberflöte and the Wagner/Strauss box.

What are your favourite recordings of his EMI catalogue? I'm not counting live recordings like some Mahler symphonies or Beethoven 9, in Testament, etc.

Do you have any words about the recording style in the early 60s with Columbia? For example, I really like the last stereo recordings that Karajan made with the Philharmonia before departing for Berlin forever...

 

[Granate]

You only have to go back to his 1955 Beethoven symphonies to see that the 1960 cycle represented a marked slow down from what he had done. I think that his physical issues and age had a lot to do with it.

His eternal Mahler 7 is my favourite (1h40m) together with Abbado CSO (1CD)!

I generally have a good opinion about Walter Legge's Philharmonia Orchestra. Since it was created until Klemperer's decease, they "enjoyed" the batons of Herbert von Karajan and ocasionally Wilhelm Furtwängler. Did Klemperer "reap the harvest" and implemented their experience into the stereo recording era?

Not everything Klemperer did was absolute gold, but the majority of his catalogue is fantastic and above all he stressed clarity in his recordings. [...] He also sat the orchestra different than most everyone else which actually made him have to work harder to keep everything in order. He was a first class musician and a good composer which is sadly overlooked.

I kind of want to know more about this. In the "great conductors of the past" documentary, he was portrayed as a man of character sometimes more enraged than Fritz Reiner.

And look what I found in my past challenges!

Mozart
Die Zauberflöte, KV620
Gottlob Frick, Nicolai Gedda, Walter Berry, Lucia Popp, Gundula Janowitz, Elisabeth Schwartzkopf, Christa Ludwig, Franz Crass
Philharmonia Orchestra & Chorus
Otto Klemperer
Warner Classics (1964/2000 Remastered Edition)

I want to blame my tireness for my reaction to Klemperer's Zauberflöte. Although the digital transfer has kept the volume nicely, the instrumentation and the balance of the Philharmonia Chorus with the male singers felt boring. Time was passing and nothing catched my attention. It's sad. Lucia Popp as Queen of the Night played the best role and sung a near-perfect "Der Hölle Rache". I bet that in the future I'll like Klemperer's recording, but now it stands together with Böhm.

 

[Granate]

After listening to the Tchaikovsky No.4 in the context of my symphony challenge, I'm thinking of waiting for Warner to release a complete set with all the recordings remastered, including the Beethoven cycle and buy it one Christmas. It's kind of the same with Celibidache, but this Tchaikovsky No.4 was completely the opposite to what most conductors (still don't know about the Russians) seem to do. It's a unique merciless aproach, no sharp edges or spectacular string and brass codas (like Karajan does, in the best way). With him, and his conducting, plus the touch of the orchestra, it's like the No.4 is not a "common" or "vulgar" piece of music anymore.

I've heard a little of the No.5 just for pleasure and the woodwinds sounded a bit odd... I'll soon rate it in context.

 

[Granate]

Wow. Anyone ever seen this 1929 picture?

Sorry if it's off-topic.

 

[Granate]

It's Erich Kleiber indeed.

This could qualify as the Avengers meme.