Klemperer's Beethoven, New Issues!
Posted by: u5227470736789439 on 25 March 2007
Dear Friends,
I find a ramble round http://www.testament.co.uk/ is usually some what depressing. So much I would love to get, and so on!
Of special interest is a series of live Beethoven Symphony recordings from the Philharmonia [mainly in the Royal Festival Hall] including 1 to 5, and 7 and 8, issued for the first time. The Eroica comes in a performance with the Danish State Orchestra, presumably because it is finer than any of the Philharmonia readings.
This is in addition to two live recordings of his in the Choral Symphony and the Third, Fourth and Fifth Piano Concertos with Claudio Arraw already released. [Testamant also have royally served Solomon Cutner in the existing Sonata recordings - about half the series, before a series of strokes cut his career short -and his series of the Piano Concertos, as well as Concerti by Tchaikowsky, Bliss and so on...].
I think that though almost every recording of Furtwngler has long since been unearthed and published, the renewed interest in Klemperer's legacy quite probably has even more to offer those who really enjoy the works of Beethoven.
Also re-released is Klemperer's mid-sixties EMI reording of the Missa Solemnis, which was a problematic work for him, and yet in a fair proportion of the handful of performances he gave in his long career he obtained a phenomenal synthesis of the music, which he himself considered, "does not take account of reality in performance!" He was always deeply depressed about the way it went if it was not up to his own expectations. It seems he was satisfied with the studio recording. [There is a live recording done in 1960 Vienna with the Philharmonia, which is legendary but has only briefly made it to pubication, which is apparently spell-binding. Testamant? One day perhaps].
Another fascinating glimse of an older time is to be found as finally Testamant have released the recording done in the Royal Albert Hall of the World Premiere of R Stauss' Four Last Songs, with the Flagstad, The Philharmonia, and Furtwangler. The parts of the recording which survive, have been transfered to fill a CD. This might be priceless. The Songs are complete, and apparently in better condition than any pirate release so far... I post this up for others rather than my own consumption for all that.
Kindest regards from Fredrik
I find a ramble round http://www.testament.co.uk/ is usually some what depressing. So much I would love to get, and so on!
Of special interest is a series of live Beethoven Symphony recordings from the Philharmonia [mainly in the Royal Festival Hall] including 1 to 5, and 7 and 8, issued for the first time. The Eroica comes in a performance with the Danish State Orchestra, presumably because it is finer than any of the Philharmonia readings.
This is in addition to two live recordings of his in the Choral Symphony and the Third, Fourth and Fifth Piano Concertos with Claudio Arraw already released. [Testamant also have royally served Solomon Cutner in the existing Sonata recordings - about half the series, before a series of strokes cut his career short -and his series of the Piano Concertos, as well as Concerti by Tchaikowsky, Bliss and so on...].
I think that though almost every recording of Furtwngler has long since been unearthed and published, the renewed interest in Klemperer's legacy quite probably has even more to offer those who really enjoy the works of Beethoven.
Also re-released is Klemperer's mid-sixties EMI reording of the Missa Solemnis, which was a problematic work for him, and yet in a fair proportion of the handful of performances he gave in his long career he obtained a phenomenal synthesis of the music, which he himself considered, "does not take account of reality in performance!" He was always deeply depressed about the way it went if it was not up to his own expectations. It seems he was satisfied with the studio recording. [There is a live recording done in 1960 Vienna with the Philharmonia, which is legendary but has only briefly made it to pubication, which is apparently spell-binding. Testamant? One day perhaps].
Another fascinating glimse of an older time is to be found as finally Testamant have released the recording done in the Royal Albert Hall of the World Premiere of R Stauss' Four Last Songs, with the Flagstad, The Philharmonia, and Furtwangler. The parts of the recording which survive, have been transfered to fill a CD. This might be priceless. The Songs are complete, and apparently in better condition than any pirate release so far... I post this up for others rather than my own consumption for all that.
Kindest regards from Fredrik
Hi George,
I'm very interested in this thread as I share your admiration for Klemperer. So I wonder have you come to any conclusion concerning the Haydn set and the EMI Beethoven set? How does the Beethoven set compare to his 50's EMI recordings and the Testament issues. Is it beeter to cherry-pick his Beethoven than to buy this set, or is it so good (and affordable) that it's not to be missed
.
br
Espen
I'm very interested in this thread as I share your admiration for Klemperer. So I wonder have you come to any conclusion concerning the Haydn set and the EMI Beethoven set? How does the Beethoven set compare to his 50's EMI recordings and the Testament issues. Is it beeter to cherry-pick his Beethoven than to buy this set, or is it so good (and affordable) that it's not to be missed
.br
Espen
quote:Originally posted by GFFJ:
Dear Espen,
I have come to a conclusion about both, and a surprising one perhaps.
I consider that the Haydn set is simply the best Haydn selection of Symphonies available. There is one complete failure: The Military, where Klemperer, the most sincere and serious artist, is poorly eqipped to deal with Haydn's rather emotionally slight, tub-thumping piece of "classical pop" music, and as I noted earlier this becomes a severe reporting [musically] of a form of ironic self-parody, but elsewhere Klemperer has the measure of the music, from the joyous 88, to the profound humanity of the 104 [The London]. Obviously these recordings are a presentation of the Haydn Klemperer gave in the concert hall, being recording in the process of rehearsal [as was Klemperer's unique practice] rather than any attempt at a complete cycle, so I remain sad that 103 is absent ...
I will definately give a full review this weekend.
As for the EMI studio [stereo cycle] of Beethoven, I will also attempt to describe it in comparison to the live [Testament/BBC] recordings, but I hasten to add for now, that in my view these remain the greatest Beethoven symphonic recording, taken as a cycle, that have yet been set down. Not in every case the greatest recordings, as taken individually, but as a whole more than worth their budget price.
ATB from George
Dear George,
Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts about these sets. I'm looking forward to read your Haydn review!
br
Espen
Of the eight Haydn smphonies that Klemperer recorded for EMI, I have found an astonishing success rate in producing performances that have become my favourites on records. I have been at a complete loss to pin down what is so right about them. It is a problem of defining what is great in the whole subjective business of interpreting music and realising it on records or in the concert hall.
The successes for me have been: 88, 92 [Oxford], 98, 101 [Clock], 102, and 104 [London]. Even 95 is still one I treasure in this recording, and only the 100th., The Military really misfires in spite of some wonderful things as well.
At about 10 GBP for the the three CDs, it immense value, and should be obtained by anyone who loves Haydn's music.
So often Klemperer finds exactly a just tempo not just for a single movement but across the whole work, which gives a strength of purpose to the performances which is both architectural, and allows for Haydn's myriad details to tell without any straining for effect. This is unforced music making which at first acquaintance might seem to be almost artless. After a few weeks I have become convinced that it is the product of a deep understanding of the music, based on a lifetime's study.
My view is that the six best performances here present Haydn with the same intense comprehension and binding grip on their music significance and character as Klemperer managed in his 1955 recordings of Beethoven's Eroica, Fifth and Seventh symphonies.
I might even begin to think that Klemperer is even more on Haydn's wavelength than Beethoven's because the results seem so devoid of artifice, and yet so accute in getting to the point of characterisation, be it of the grandly stated Minuets, which so blend the grace of Viennese dance with the rural simplicity so often found in the apparently [if not actually] simple Trio sections, the tremendous energy and wild wit and verve of the Finales, or the frequently deeply emotional slow movements.
It is obvious that Klemperer regards Haydn as a composer who frequently speaks in a more robust language than Haydn's friend Mozart, another composer of whose music Klemperer was a remarkable adept. Klemperer revels in the off-beat accents and irregular shaped phrases that give such a lift to what can seem quite conventional, and in poor performances, potentially dull music. The rhythms are always just lifted, the pulse resilient, the first notes seeming to prefigure that last in a way that leads the listener to know this journey is going to be both bracing and and successful!
For all that the HIP movement has brought new light to the subject, I think these performances illuminate the music entirely to the benefit of the composer, and to spreading an appreciation of his particular style of composition, with it joyous way of contemplating the reason for music! It is clear that no detail of scoring is ever going to be buried in over-loud playing, and it is a pleasant discovery to find Klemperer's abilty to get a largish orchestra to play with perlucid clarity of balance is even more than usually helpful in Haydn's music.
These have proved to be my joint favourite musical performance discovery of 2008 amd rank beside the Mogens Woldike recordings of the Brandenburg Concertos of Bach.
I cannot commend these performances enough. I also apologise for an almost inarticulate response to this. Really words fails me [or I fail words], such is the indescribable magnificence of the music making on offer here. This is my third effort at posting this after two PC crashes. I hope it may stir a few to buy these inexpensive and illuminating recorded performances ...
ATB from George
PS: This is s new re-issue from EMI:
The successes for me have been: 88, 92 [Oxford], 98, 101 [Clock], 102, and 104 [London]. Even 95 is still one I treasure in this recording, and only the 100th., The Military really misfires in spite of some wonderful things as well.
At about 10 GBP for the the three CDs, it immense value, and should be obtained by anyone who loves Haydn's music.
So often Klemperer finds exactly a just tempo not just for a single movement but across the whole work, which gives a strength of purpose to the performances which is both architectural, and allows for Haydn's myriad details to tell without any straining for effect. This is unforced music making which at first acquaintance might seem to be almost artless. After a few weeks I have become convinced that it is the product of a deep understanding of the music, based on a lifetime's study.
My view is that the six best performances here present Haydn with the same intense comprehension and binding grip on their music significance and character as Klemperer managed in his 1955 recordings of Beethoven's Eroica, Fifth and Seventh symphonies.
I might even begin to think that Klemperer is even more on Haydn's wavelength than Beethoven's because the results seem so devoid of artifice, and yet so accute in getting to the point of characterisation, be it of the grandly stated Minuets, which so blend the grace of Viennese dance with the rural simplicity so often found in the apparently [if not actually] simple Trio sections, the tremendous energy and wild wit and verve of the Finales, or the frequently deeply emotional slow movements.
It is obvious that Klemperer regards Haydn as a composer who frequently speaks in a more robust language than Haydn's friend Mozart, another composer of whose music Klemperer was a remarkable adept. Klemperer revels in the off-beat accents and irregular shaped phrases that give such a lift to what can seem quite conventional, and in poor performances, potentially dull music. The rhythms are always just lifted, the pulse resilient, the first notes seeming to prefigure that last in a way that leads the listener to know this journey is going to be both bracing and and successful!
For all that the HIP movement has brought new light to the subject, I think these performances illuminate the music entirely to the benefit of the composer, and to spreading an appreciation of his particular style of composition, with it joyous way of contemplating the reason for music! It is clear that no detail of scoring is ever going to be buried in over-loud playing, and it is a pleasant discovery to find Klemperer's abilty to get a largish orchestra to play with perlucid clarity of balance is even more than usually helpful in Haydn's music.
These have proved to be my joint favourite musical performance discovery of 2008 amd rank beside the Mogens Woldike recordings of the Brandenburg Concertos of Bach.
I cannot commend these performances enough. I also apologise for an almost inarticulate response to this. Really words fails me [or I fail words], such is the indescribable magnificence of the music making on offer here. This is my third effort at posting this after two PC crashes. I hope it may stir a few to buy these inexpensive and illuminating recorded performances ...
ATB from George
PS: This is s new re-issue from EMI:
The Bach mentioned above:
Also amazing!
ATB from George
Also amazing!
ATB from George