Search - Otto Klemperer, Bavarian Radio Orchestra :: Klemperer Legacy - Beethoven: Symphonies nos. 4 & 5 / Bavarian Radio Orchestra

ABSOLUTELY OUTSTANDING!

Ryan Kouroukis | Toronto, Ontario Canada | 11/06/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Out of all the Beethoven interpretations that I've heard of #4 and #5, these ones by "old klemp" are the everest of them. If you've heard Klemp before in his earlier interpretations, then you haven't heard anything yet! Klemp brings out such fire and explosive emotions in these live readings. I can't believe it, you gotta heard it for yourself!"

Old Klemp Live

Michael B. Richman | Portland, Maine USA | 07/20/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I currently own four performances of Beethoven's 5th Symphony conducted by Otto Klemperer -- the 1950 mono performance with the Vienna S.O. on Vox, the 1955 mono performance with the Philharmonia on EMI (see my review), 1959 stereo account with the Philharmonia collected on the EMI Boxed Set of Klemperer's Beethoven Symphony Cycle, and this title. This CD from the Klemperer Legacy series features the first authorized release of a live stereo recording of Beethoven's 4th and 5th Symphonies with the Bavarian R.S.O. from 1969. Like many conductors, as Klemperer got older his tempos got slower, and it is particularly evident here in the 3rd Movement of the 4th and throughout the 5th Symphony. However, the sound quality is excellent and the slower pace does allow you to examine passages more intimately than in the earlier recordings. Fans of "Old Klemp" will certainly want to pick up this title, and I would do so quickly as it seems the Klemperer Legacy titles are becoming increasingly harder to find."