Search - Beethoven, Klemperer, Philharmonia Orchestra :: 9 Symphonies

Not the Klemperer you might expect

Andrew R. Weiss | Raleigh, NC USA | 06/08/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Like many of his contemporaries (Furtwangler and Toscanini in particular), Otto Klemperer was a very different conductor in the studio and in the concert hall. I had the opportunity to hear him conduct Beethoven's 3rd and 6th symphonies in New York at Carnegie Hall with the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1963, and was struck by the contrast between the performances I heard there and the ones I had heard on his studio recordings of both symphonies for EMI/Angel. Not only were the performances quicker in pace in the faster movements; the 3rd was more urgent and the 6th even more lyrical. There was a bit less heft and a lot more electricity. The performances on this set, taken from live performances with "his" Philharmonia Orchestra in Vienna in 1960, share these qualities and remind me of why I love Klemperer: the laser-like intensity, the unrelenting momentum, the drama balanced with lyricism, the meticulous attention to detail, and above all the unparalleled understanding of the musical architecture of the whole piece. This set presents most of Klemperer's Beethoven at its best: impassioned, grand, monumental, lyrical, dramatic. If some of those adjectives don't seem to apply to Klemperer, then you are in for an awakening. Listen to the 5th: the rubato in the opening motiv and in the intensity of the string playing is not characteristic of Klemperer's studio recordings of the 1960's but will be familiar to those who have listened to his recordings from the early 1950's or before. The drama, dyanmism and propulsiveness of this performance is surpassed only by Klemperer's original mono recording for Vox with the Vienna Symphony in 1951 (which is less well played). The Beethoven 7th is probably the best extant Klemperer version, more dynamic than the EMI studio versions (although the finale is still slow-ish) and better recorded than the 1951 Concertgebow live version. Those who have only heard Klemperer's Beethoven 7th in the studio stereo remake for EMI will be suprised at how propulsive and intense he could be in this piece. The 9th symphony, Klemperer lets it all loose, with more drama than one would expect based on his studio recordings. The last movement is cosmic and grand, if a bit overemphatic and lacking in transparency and despite the cramped sound. In general, these renditions are more athletic and more spirited without ever losing the sense of grandeur and heft that had become Klemperer's hallmark Beethoven style by that time in his career. Symphonies 2, 4, and 8 all benefit from slightly quicker tempi and a more elastic, lyrical approach. The Pastorale is disappointing in comparison to Klemperer's earlier Vox recording (1951) and even his slightly earlier live performance with the Concertgebow, suffering as it does from a too-slow pulse in the 3rd movement. The "Eroica" is Klemperer's signature symphony: his performances of it were electrifying, and this performance has more depth in the 2nd movement and is more uplifting in the finale than even the old EMI studio mono recording, again benefiting from slightly faster tempi in the last two movements than in the EMI studio stereo remake. I found myself reminded in listening to these performances of Klemperer's origins as an opera conductor: there is a damatic quality in these performances that is missing in most of the EMI studio versions (unless you have copies of the original mono versions of the 3rd, 5th and 7th). The Philharmonia plays fervently for Klemperer, and there are suprisingly few mistakes. Any complete set of symphonies will be uneven, and there are better Klemperer versions of Symphonies #6 (Vienna Philharmonic 1951 - Vox - and Concertgebow 1957 - Music & Arts), #9 (Concertgebow 1957 - Music & Arts - and Philharmonia 1956 - Testament), and #3 (Royal Danish Orchestra -- Testament -- an extraordinary performance that has to be heard to be believed). Other caveats: This set is out of print from M&A and available only used. The sound is "enhanced" mono and of an indifferent, uneven, boxy, 1950's quality, and loses a great deal of detail, especially the brass, which seem to have been in a different room most of the time, and in the tuttis, which sound squashed and undifferentiated. Some symphonies fare better than others: #s 2, 5 and 6 do better than #9, for example. M&A's presentation is austere, with useless liner notes and insufficient documentation. Nonetheless, this is not a set of performances which any serous Beethoven aficionado should be without."