Search - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Otto Klemperer, Philharmonia Orchestra of London :: Mozart: Symphonies Nos. 35, 36, 38; The Magic Flute Overture

Simply wonderful

Baker Sefton Peeples | Santa Cruz, CA United States | 10/28/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Klemperer loved Mozart and recorded many of his symphonies in his peak recording years with the philharmonia. He leads very clear and elegant performances without losing strength or vigor, which allows him to shape these symphonies well and give them difference in character from phrase to phrase. the overture from magic flute is excerpted from his recording of the opera. His recording of magic flute is superb, and so is the overture, a fine bonus to the three symphonies."

Klemperer or Karajan in late Mozart?

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 02/18/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Recently I've been buying the last six Mozart symphonies from both Karajan and Klemperer on EMI. The Karajan set is with the Berlin Phil. recorded in 1970, the Klemperer with the Philharmonia and New Philharmonia, depending on the date, from the early Sixties. It's strange that either conductor should be satisfying in this music--both recorded Mozart opera performances that lack a single smile, and Karajan's sleekness is as foreign to Mozart's spirit as Klemperer's heavy-handed literalness.



Yet given the big-band format, both are very successful because they bring inner lfie, warmth, and expansive emotions to Mozart's last symphonies. In direct comparison of the works here--the Haffner, Linz, and Prague symphonies--Klempeerer keeps things on a human scale. His Mozart is plain-faced but graceful, beautifully proportioned and light despite the sometimes slow tempos in andantes and minuets. Karajan prefers an overblown acoustic, making the orchestra sound even bigger than it already is, but he has delicacy and inner life, too.



What gives Klemperer the edge is his naturalness and his willingness to step aside to let Mozart speak. Karajan is controlled and polished; he exaggerates the contrasts in the Prague, for example, lunging into the allegros and pushing the difference between piano and forte too hard. This particular CD of Klemperer's is one of his best, in fact; it reminds me why I fell in love with his rather grave but always alive Mozart forty years ago."