Beethoven Philharmonia Orch amp Chorus Klemperer - Symphony 9Choral +Album Reviews

Surprising Ninth.

Plaza Marcelino | Caracas Venezuela | 02/07/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The nineties saw the appearance, especially from the EMI stables, of a group of recordings taken live at actual concerts conducted by Otto Klemperer and authorised for release by his estate, some of them taped perhaps too late in his career but very interesting to compare with studio efforts. Live Klemperer recordings have been indeed uncommon, since the conductor was able to studio-record the vast majority of the repertoire that made him famous, a susprising quantity of it in stereo in view of Klemperer's long life span (he lived close to 90). The late fifties saw the recording and release of the conductor's famous HMV stereo set of the Beethoven 9 symphonies, never out of the catalogue since then. I don't know why this recording of Beethoven's Op. 125, taken at a RFH concert in November 1957 was made or if it was ever meant to be released to the general public when EMI put it on tape, but collectors must for ever thank Testament for making it available. If you're acquainted with the Klemperer style mostly from the EMI studio recordings made from the late '50s onwards, you're in for a big, big susprise. On the outside, this live ninth is not strikingly different from the studio recording, made less than a month later with the same participants and available also from EMI in a single disc or as part of the complete 9 symphonies set. But how different it sounds! There's a tense, thrilling atmosphere throughout that is far less present in the studio, as Klemperer --like most of the conductors of his generation, one that comprised monsters of the art like Bruno Walter, Wilhelm Furtwängler or Erich Kleiber-- could be radically different in a concert hall, before an audience, than in the studio, and this recording does show it all-round. Besides, in 1957 he clearly still had a strength or power of expression that a few years later, save for a few exceptions, age had signifficantly taken away and replaced with idiosyncracies that tended to mar a number of those recordings he made during the last 5 or 6 years of his life (a significant example of this lies in his Bruckner 8th). This ninth is exhuberant with life, joy and dramatic tension, everything fits readily into place and some of the tempi may even susprise listeners more used to Klemperer's famous slowness, here apparent mostly in the scherzo, a slowness that many US record reviewers liked so much to criticise as "pedantic" during the sixties. So, in spite of an over-emphatic timpanist and Hotter's tendency to wobble and miss a few notes in the last movement, this a "Choral Symphony" to place among the very greatest ever put on disc. The sound is very good and clear (stereo, most unusual for a live recording dating from 1957), the conductor's usual orchestral layout a definite plus and Klemperer's legendary exigence of clarity of intonation and articulation very well followed by a Philharmonia Orchestra that at the time was one of the world's greatest orchestras. A must then, and if Testament can dig out similar Klemperer material from record company vaults, may they be blessed for ever!"

Grand and Powerful!

Lincoln-63542 | Raleigh, NC USA | 07/02/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When I bought this CD to add to my collection of the Ninth I was not expecting it to rise to my Top 5 Favorites as it did. I compare its vitality and its strenght, as much as the execution of the instruments, particularly the drumming with the one by W. Furtwangler, Lucerne Festival 1953. Is that powerful and passionate! . The Tempo is excellent, the sound is great, the performance of the Soloists and the Philharmonia Chorus is awesome. Kemplerer is taking himself to the category of Sublime here in this rendition. Truly a Testament of Glory and Majesty. The CD is expensive but it worth every penny in performance and sound. Go for it!"

Great, but not as good as...

Ryan Kouroukis | Toronto, Ontario Canada | 05/09/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a great live recording from 1957, but it's not as good as the new live Klemperer recording of the 9th TESTAMENT just released.This one is pretty good, typical Klemp, but the new 1961 live recording issued by TESTAMENT totally outclasses and outshines the 1957 version. The playing is more concentrated and intense, and the interpretation has more tragic feeling and greater majesty and nobility than ever before. The choral forces are like a thunderbolt from heaven, when comparing it to its predecesor! It's Klemp like you've never known! Klemp was on fire.Plus, TESTAMENT did a very fine job on the remastering of the mono sound. Actually, the 1961 live Klemp has just become my new favorite 9th, after the 1942 Furtwangler wartime 9th. I would sacrifice the 1957 Klemp and get the 1961 Klemp instead, it's so much better! You go through a much more elevated experience.(By the way...TESTAMENT have also just released the 1961 live Fidelio with Klemperer from Covent Garden!)-We all owe TESTAMENT great thanks for the work their doing and have done on issuing rare Klemps for humanity. Thanks TESTAMENT and thanks OTTO KLEMPERER."

Stunning Performance

Ryan Kouroukis | 04/18/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"With modern digital technology, digital recording, why would you want to return to an old set dating from 1957? Firstly, let me say that the recording is in extremely good sound. Everything is crystal clear with a faint hint that this recording is perhaps not the most up to date digital recording. Most importantly, of course, is that this is an absolutely stunning and magnetic performance. From start to finish, the performance holds your attention and never sags. I held back from buying this version because I already have a number of famous 9ths. I have Klemperer's studio cycle from EMI. Let me say this - you'll be in for a surprise. In a live concert, Klemperer is nothing like what he is in the studio.Klemperer was known not to like the studio all that much. To Klemperer, a studio performance for recording purposes lack that extra punch. When you listen to this recording you will realize how true it is. In a live concert, Klemperer is absolutely stunning - in peak form in 1957. When you listen to this performance, you will realize the reason Klemperer was considered one of the great Beethoven conductors, and the reason his 1957 Beethoven concerts were red-letter occasions for which tickets were like gold dust. The 1951 Furtwangler Bayreuth was a seismic performance. But that performance is in mono. And that was a romantic-style performance with a lot of rubato. Here Klemperer's reading is straightforward. No drastic rubato. Tempi is flowing and anything but slow. Just to give you an idea, the recent Rattle cycle reads the 9th at 69.56 using period performance practices. Klemperer clocks in a little under 70 minutes - exactly the same time!! So much for the view that Klemperer was "slow". The old adage is true that there is nothing new under the sun. The electricity carries from the concert hall 45 years ago to your living room in thid modern digital age in the year of 2003. No "patching up". Not "sewn" together like other recordings. just raw electrifying performance from one of the great Beethoven conductors of the 20th century. Superb choral singing from the Philharmonia Chorus. Unlike many other recordings - Karajan is one of the worst offenders even though the musical side of his Beethoven 9 is perfectly fine - where the chorus is balanced too far back. Here, the chorus is properly balanced forward as a main protagonist. Yes, this is the choral symphony and the chorus should be UPFRONT. The soloists are outstanding, though the tenor is rather on the weak side (Stuart Burrows for Solti 1972 is astonishing) but the performance is still excellent. This is doubtless one of the best Ninths on record. the Penguin Guide and Grammophone, very appropriately, puts this recording at the top of the list of recommended 9ths. There are few better. This version can hold its own against the Furtwangler 1951 Bayreuth, the Furtwangler 1954 Lucerne. It definitely surpasses the 1962 Karajan and 1977 Karajan. Do yourself a favor. Solti's 1972 has a stronger team of soloists - Talvela and Burrows are exceptionally outstanding in the recording - Lorengar and Minton are superb too. The Chicago Symphony Chorus can rival the Philharmonia Chorus. But that is a studio recording. This reading is compulsory for all classical musicians, in particular anyone who even remotely likes Beethoven."

Epic 9th

Lincoln-63542 | 06/10/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I love this Beethoven 9th!! It's fantastic. It's a 'live' recording - not patched together, and the timpani comes through thrillingly. This 'live' concert is far better than Klemperer's studio recording. And Klemperer's studio recording was considered a classic!! You must be prepared for some audience noise though. But I'm not really bothered about it given the incandescent performance of this Beethoven's 9th."

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