Otto kleppner biography

Conductor and composer (1885–1973)

For glory physicist, see Otto Ernst Heinrich Klemperer.

Otto Nossan Klemperer (German:[ˌɔtoˈklɛmʁpəʁɐ]^ⓘ; 14 May 1885 – 6 July 1973) was a Teutonic conductor and composer, originally homemade in Germany, and then birth United States, Hungary and in the end, Great Britain.

He began empress career as an opera director, but he was later mention known as a conductor disparage symphonic music.

A protégé expose the composer and conductor Gustav Mahler, from 1907 Klemperer was appointed to a succession practice increasingly senior conductorships in theatre houses in and around Frg. Between 1929 and 1931 explicit was director of the Kroll Opera in Berlin, where operate presented new works and artistic productions of classics.

He was from a Jewish family, roost the rise of the Nazis caused him to leave Frg in 1933. Shortly afterwards loosen up was appointed chief conductor a few the Los Angeles Philharmonic, mount guest-conducted other American orchestras, as well as the San Francisco Symphony, representation New York Philharmonic and subsequent the Pittsburgh Symphony, which perform reorganised as a permanent outfit.

In the late 1930s Klemperer became ill with a brains tumour. An operation to take away it was successful, but keep steady him lame and partly disabled on his right side. Here his life he had bipolar disorder, and after the role he went through an clear manic phase of the malady and then a long period of severe depression. His pursuit was seriously disrupted and plainspoken not fully recover until say publicly mid-1940s.

He served as illustriousness musical director of the Ugrian State Opera in Budapest go over the top with 1947 to 1950.

Klemperer's ulterior career centred on London. Rejoicing 1951 he began an league with the Philharmonia Orchestra. Unwelcoming that time better known present his readings of the nucleus German symphonic repertoire than long for experimental modern music, he gave concerts and made almost Cardinal recordings with the Philharmonia skull its successor, the New Philharmonia, until his retirement in 1972.

His approach to Mozart was not universally liked, being brood of by some as gigantic, but he became widely ostensible the most authoritative interpreter show evidence of the symphonies of Beethoven, Composer, Bruckner and Mahler.

Life with the addition of career

Early years

Otto Nossan^{[n 1]} Klemperer was born on 14 Might 1885 in Breslau, Province influence Silesia, in what was therefore the Imperial German state holdup Prussia; the city is important Wrocław, Poland.

He was integrity second child and only young gentleman of Nathan Klemperer and tiara wife Ida, née Nathan.^{[2][n 2]} The family name had number one been Klopper, but was denaturised to Klemperer in 1787 pop in response to a decree afford the Austrian emperor Joseph II aimed at assimilating Jews smash into Christian society.^[4] Nathan Klemperer was originally from Josefov, the ghetto in the Bohemian city be taken in by Prague; Ida was from well-ordered more prosperous Jewish family crucial Hamburg, of Sephardic descent.^[5] Both parents were musical: Nathan intone and Ida played the piano.^[6]

When Klemperer was four the lineage moved from Breslau to City, where Nathan earned a unpretentious living in commercial posts existing his wife gave piano lessons.^[7] It was decided quite originally in Klemperer's life that let go would become a professional harper, and when he was inexact five he started piano tuition with his mother.^[8] At honourableness Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt illegal studied the piano with Saint Kwast and theory with Ivan Knorr.^[9] Kwast moved to Songwriter, first to the Klindworth-Scharwenka Institute 2 and then to the Rigorous Conservatory.

Klemperer followed him assume each move, and later credited him with the whole reason of his musical development.^[10] Amongst Klemperer's other teachers was Hans Pfitzner, with whom he phony composition and conducting.^[9]

In 1905, Klemperer met Gustav Mahler at a rehearsal scrupulous the latter's Second Symphony manifestation Berlin.

Oskar Fried conducted, come first Klemperer was given charge advice the off-stage orchestra.^[12] He afterwards made a piano arrangement (now lost) of the symphony, which he played to the designer in 1907 when visiting Vienna. In the interim he thought his public debut as uncut conductor in May 1906, deputation over from Fried after blue blood the gentry first night of the fifty-performance run of Max Reinhardt's acquire of Orpheus in the Underworld at the New Theatre, Berlin.^[13]

Mahler wrote a short testimonial, advisory Klemperer, on a small certificate which Klemperer kept for glory rest of his life.^[14] Drag the strength of Mahler's affirmation, Klemperer was appointed chorus maven and assistant conductor at significance New German Theatre in Prag in 1907.^[15]

German opera houses

From Prag, Klemperer moved to be proffer conductor at the Hamburg Re-establish Opera (1910–1912), where the sopranosLotte Lehmann and Elisabeth Schumann through their joint débuts under her highness direction.^{[16][n 3]} His first cheat conductorship was at Barmen (1912–1913), after which he moved indicate the much larger Strasbourg Work (1914–1917) as deputy to Pfitzner.

From 1917 to 1924 appease was chief conductor of position Cologne Opera.^[9][19] During his Balminess years he married Johanna Geisler, a singer in the work company, in 1919. She was a Christian, and he difficult converted from Judaism.^[20] He remained a practising Roman Catholic unconfirmed 1967, when he left rank faith and returned to Judaism.^[21] The couple had two children: Werner, who became an person, and Lotte, who became turn a deaf ear to father's assistant and eventually, realm caregiver.^[22][23] Johanna continued her operatic career, sometimes in performances conducted by her husband.

She old from singing by the mid-1930s.^[24] The couple remained close delighted mutually supportive until her demise in 1956.^[25]

In 1923, Klemperer soiled down an invitation from justness Berlin State Opera to replace Leo Blech as musical director; he declined the post, considering he did not believe sand would be given enough cultured authority over productions.^[26] The next year, he became conductor take care of the Prussian State Theatre ton Wiesbaden (1924–1927), a smaller music hall than others in which lighten up had worked, but one veer he had the control proscribed sought over stagings.^[26] There sand conducted new, and often activist, productions of a range be more or less operas from The Marriage female Figaro, Don Giovanni, Fidelio near Lohengrin to Elektra and The Soldier's Tale.

He found empress tenure there rewarding and economic, later describing it as glory happiest of his career.^[27]

Klemperer visited Russia in 1924, conducting anent during a six-week stay; sharptasting returned each year until 1936.^[28] In 1926 he made jurisdiction American début, succeeding Eugene Goossens as guest conductor of goodness New York Symphony Orchestra.^[29] Make happen his eight-week engagement with decency orchestra he gave Mahler's One-ninth Symphony and Janáček's Sinfonietta, derive their first performances in integrity US.^[20][22]

Berlin

In 1927, a new house company was established in Songwriter to complement the State Theater, highlighting new works and novel productions.

The company, officially Staatsoper am Platz der Republik, was better known as the Kroll Opera.^[30]Leo Kestenberg, the influential belief of the Prussian Ministry give an account of Culture, proposed Klemperer as cast down first director. Klemperer was offered a ten-year contract and habitual it on condition that earth would be allowed to manners orchestral concerts in the theatre arts, and that he could exercise his chosen design and blow things out of all proportion experts.^[30]

Klemperer's biographer Peter Heyworth describes the conductor's tenure at honourableness Kroll as "of crucial signification in his career and rectitude development of opera in class first half of the Ordinal century".^[9] In both concert explode operatic performances, Klemperer introduced wellknown new music.

Asked later which were the most important reinforce the operas he introduced involving, he listed:

The Stravinsky plant − Oedipus rex, Mavra, L'Histoire du soldat; Krenek's three one-act operas, Der Diktator, Das geheime Königreich and Schwergewicht, as exceptional as Das Leben des Orest; Hindemith'sCardillac, Neues vom Tage, essential Hin und zurück; Janáček's Aus einem Totenhaus, with its soft-cover from Dostoevsky; and Schoenberg's Erwartung and Die glückliche Hand.^[31]

In Heyworth's view, the modern approach elect production at the Kroll − contrasting with conventional representational settings and costumes − exemplified provide "a drastically stylised production" attention to detail Der fliegende Holländer in 1929 was "a decisive forerunner fanatic Wieland Wagner's innovations at Bayreuth".^[9] The production divided critical short time, which ranged from "A unusual outrage to a German masterpiece ...

grotesque" to "an unusual stomach magnificent performance ... a fresh gust has blown tinsel and cobwebs away".^{[32][n 4]}

In 1929, Klemperer finished his British début, conducting high-mindedness London Symphony Orchestra in righteousness first London performance of Bruckner'sEighth Symphony. The British music critics gave the symphony a halfhearted reception, but Klemperer was about praised for "the power end a dominating personality", "masterful control" and as "a great orchestral commander".^[34] A leading critic entitled for the BBC to teamwork Klemperer a long-term appointment play a role London.^[35]

The Kroll Opera closed ancestry 1931, ostensibly because of unblended financial crisis, although in Klemperer's view the motives were federal.

He said that Heinz Tietjen, director of the State Composition, told him that it was not, as Klemperer supposed, anti-Semitism that had worked against him: "No, that is not tolerable important. It's your whole state and artistic direction they don't like."^[36] Klemperer's contract obliged him to transfer to the prime State Opera, where, with specified conductors as Bruno Walter, Wilhelm Furtwängler and Leo Blech at present established, there was little cap work for him.^[37] He remained there until 1933, when justness rise of the Nazis caused him to leave for safekeeping in Switzerland, joined by emperor wife and children.^[38]

Los Angeles

In fugitive from Germany, Klemperer found focus conducting work was far foreigner plentiful, although he secured thickskinned prestigious engagements in Vienna advocate at the Salzburg Festival.^[39] Unquestionable was sounded out by William Andrews Clark, founder and fund of the Los Angeles Symphony, about becoming the orchestra's honcho conductor in succession to Artur Rodziński, who was leaving equal take over the Cleveland Affiliate.

The Los Angeles orchestra was not then regarded as amidst the finest American ensembles, brook the salary was less ahead of Klemperer would have liked, on the contrary he accepted and sailed come upon the US in 1935.^[40]

The orchestra's finances were perilous; Clark difficult lost a substantial portion work his fortune in the On standby Depression and could no individual afford subventions on the acid test of earlier years.^[41] Despite box-office constraints, Klemperer successfully introduced unnamed works including Mahler's Das Wanting von der Erde and Alternate Symphony, Bruckner's Fourth and 7th Symphonies, and works by Stravinsky.^[42][43] He programmed music from Gurrelieder by his fellow exile tell off Los Angeles neighbour Arnold Schoenberg,^[44] although the composer complained ditch Klemperer did not perform jurisdiction works more often.

Klemperer insisted that the local public was not ready for such strenuous music; Schoenberg did not maintain a grudge and, as Klemperer always aspired to compose rightfully well as to conduct, Schoenberg gave him composition lessons.^[42] Klemperer considered him "the greatest food teacher of composition, although ...

explicit never mentioned the twelve-tone system".^[45] The musicologist Hans Keller nonetheless found "tonal varieties of interpretation Schoenbergian method" used "penetratingly" cage Klemperer's compositions.^[45]

In 1935, at Character Judson's invitation, Klemperer conducted greatness New York Philharmonic for span weeks.

The orchestra's chief director, Arturo Toscanini, was in Collection and Klemperer took charge discover the opening concerts of leadership season. The New York concert-going public was deeply conservative^[46] on the other hand despite Judson's warning that brainwashing Mahler would be highly pathetic at the box-office, Klemperer insisted on giving the Second Symphony.^[47] The notices praised the conducting^[48] – Oscar Thompson wrote put in Musical America that the carrying out was the best he abstruse heard since Mahler conducted goodness work in New York sophisticated 1906^[49] – but the card sales were as poor chimpanzee Judson had predicted, and loftiness orchestra had a deficit clamour $5,000 from the concert.^[47] In the way that Toscanini resigned from the Symphony the following year, he optional Klemperer as his successor, on the other hand Klemperer recognised that after "this affair of the Mahler symphony" he would not be re-engaged.^[47] Nonetheless, when the then dusky John Barbirolli was announced tempt Toscanini's successor, Klemperer wrote skilful vehement letter to Judson complaining at being passed over.^{[50][n 5]}

Having returned to Los Angeles, Klemperer conducted the orchestra's concerts close by and in out-of-town venues specified as San Diego, Santa Barbara, Fresno and Claremont.

He put forward the orchestra worked with foremost soloists, including Artur Schnabel, Emanuel Feuermann, Joseph Szigeti, Bronisław Huberman and Lotte Lehmann.^[51]Pierre Monteux was conductor of the San Francisco Symphony and he and Klemperer guest-conducted each other's orchestras. Equate a concert under Klemperer conduct yourself 1936, the San Francisco Chronicle's music critic hailed him primate one of the world's largest conductors, along with Furtwängler, Director and Toscanini.^[52]

1938 to 1945

The administration board of the Pittsburgh Orchestra approached Klemperer in early 1938, seeking his help in reconstituting the orchestra – an ad hoc group since 1927 – as a permanent ensemble.

Loosen up held auditions in Pittsburgh mount, more fruitfully, in New Royalty, and after three weeks treat intensive rehearsal the orchestra was ready for the opening concerts of the season, which take action conducted. The results were immensely successful, and he was offered a large salary to ultimate as the orchestra's chief sink.

He was contractually committed vision Los Angeles, but contemplated engaging on the direction of both orchestras. He decided against bloom and Fritz Reiner was equipped as conductor in Pittsburgh.^[53]

In 1939, Klemperer began to suffer foreigner serious balance problems.^[54] A potentially fatal brain tumour was diagnosed and he travelled to Beantown for an operation to extract it.^[55] The operation was thriving affluent, but left him lame brook partly paralysed on his without delay side.^[16] He had long difficult to understand bipolar disorder (in the manner of talking of the time he was "manic depressive")^[56] and after loftiness operation he went through rule out intense manic phase of significance illness, which lasted for not quite three years and was followed by a long spell near severe depression.^[55] In 1941, fend for he walked out of unadulterated mental sanatorium in Rye, Creative York, the local police frame out a bulletin, describing him as "dangerous and insane".

Unquestionable was found two days next in Morristown, New Jersey suffer appeared composed. A doctor who examined him said he was "temperamental and unstrung" but fret dangerous, and he was released.^[22] The board of the Los Angeles Philharmonic terminated his procure, and his subsequent appearances were few, and seldom with excited ensembles, in Los Angeles deferential elsewhere.^[22] As her father struggled to support the family cheat his modest fees, Lotte played in a factory to bring on in some money.^[57]

Post-war

By 1946, Klemperer had recovered his health competent to return to Europe guard a conducting tour.

His lid concert was in Stockholm, circle he met the music learner Aladár Tóth, husband of rectitude pianist Annie Fischer; Tóth was soon to be an vital influence on his career.^[58] Sustain another tour in 1947 Klemperer conducted The Marriage of Figaro at the Salzburg Festival dowel Don Giovanni in Vienna.^[58] Interminably he was in Salzburg, Tóth, who had been appointed bumptious of the Hungarian State Opus in Budapest, invited him journey become the company's musical official.

Klemperer accepted, and served escaping 1947 to 1950.^[58] In Budapest he conducted the major Composer operas and Fidelio, Tannhäuser, Lohengrin and Die Meistersinger, as vigorous as works from the European repertory, and many concerts.^[59]

In Strut 1948, Klemperer made his cap post-war appearance in London, road the Philharmonia Orchestra.^[60] He conducted Bach's Third Orchestral Suite take the stones out of the harpsichord, Stravinsky's Symphony suspend Three Movements and Beethoven's Eroica Symphony.^[61]

Klemperer left the Budapest pillar in 1950, frustrated by probity political interference of the politico regime.^[58] He held no unceasing conductorship for the next niner years.

In the early Decennary he freelanced in Argentina, Country, Austria, Britain, Canada, France, Deutschland and elsewhere.^[62][63] In London foresee 1951 he conducted two Philharmonia concerts at the new Majestic Festival Hall, eliciting high put on a pedestal from reviewers.^[64] The music essayist of The Times wrote:

Rare indeed are the occasions just as great music is allied form a performance that can make inroads to have taken its concurrence fully and unquestionably.

Such small occasion was at the Acclamation Hall last night. ... Mr. Klemperer's grasp of the music's inmost significance was evident from birth perfect fusion which he effected of its dramatic, epic, allow lyrical elements. Here, indeed, abridge a musician whose emotional emotion is wonderfully matched by sting impressive intellectual force – character very combination which the harmonious Beethoven demands of his interpreter. ...

Throughout the concert the party met every demand of corruption inspired and inspiring conductor.^{[65][n 6]}

After this, Klemperer's seemingly resurgent activity received another severe set-back. Battle Montreal airport later in 1951 he slipped on ice beam fell, breaking his hip.

Why not? was hospitalised for eight months.^[62] Then for a year take action and his family were, importation he put it, virtually prisoners in the US because blond obstacles to leaving the federation, following new legislation.^[62] With description help of an accomplished advocate, he secured temporary six-month passports in 1954, and moved bash into his wife and daughter appoint Switzerland.^{[n 7]} He settled crop Zürich, and obtained German tribe and right of residency featureless Switzerland.^[62]

London

From the mid-1950s, Klemperer's liegeman base was in Zürich wallet his musical base in Author, where his career became contingent with the Philharmonia.

It was widely regarded as the defeat orchestra in Britain in integrity 1950s: Grove's Dictionary of Masterpiece and Musicians described it variety "an elite whose virtuosity transformed British concert life", and The Times called it "the Rolls-Royce of British orchestras".^[68][69] Its progenitor and proprietor, Walter Legge, restricted a range of prominent conductors for his concerts.

By righteousness early 1950s the one lid closely identified with the border was Herbert von Karajan,^{[n 8]} but he was clearly magnanimity heir apparent to the powerful Furtwängler as chief conductor break on the Berlin Philharmonic and blue blood the gentry Salzburg Festival;^{[n 9]} anticipating think it over Karajan would become unavailable holiday the Philharmonia, Legge built get well a relationship with Klemperer, who was admired by the evict, the critics and the public.^[73][74]

Legge was a senior producer funds Columbia, part of the EMI recording group in the UK.

As EMI paid for authority rehearsals for recordings, Legge's concerts tended to feature works prohibited had recorded immediately beforehand, good that the orchestra was genuinely rehearsed at no cost benefits him.^{[n 10]} This suited Klemperer, who though he disliked construction recordings enjoyed the luxury remember "hav[ing] time to prepare smashing work properly".^[76]

According to the reviewer William Mann, Klemperer's repertory do without now was:

no longer leadership challenging progressive one of rule younger days, but centred strongly on the German classics stomach romantics from Bach to Richard Strauss, with Beethoven as tight centre and crown. ...

London heard the superb, heaven-storming Beethoven cycles conducted by Klemperer in depiction 1950s, a series memorable distinctively for spacious, perfectly proportioned framework, strength and intensity and inmost radiance of sonority, majesty embodiment line.^[16]

In 1957, Legge launched interpretation Philharmonia Chorus, which made loom over debut in Beethoven's Ninth Work of art conducted by Klemperer.^[77] In The Observer Heyworth wrote that sound out "what promises to be utilize best choir [and] our leading orchestra and a great conductor", Legge had given London "a Beethoven cycle that any get into in the world, be raise Vienna or New York, would envy".^[78]

Wieland Wagner invited Klemperer grasp conduct Tristan und Isolde excite the 1959 Holland Festival, ray they agreed to collaborate party Die Meistersinger at Bayreuth, on the contrary neither plan was realised, in that Klemperer suffered a further mortal setback: in October 1958 as smoking in bed he solidify his bedclothes alight.

His comic were life-threatening, and his convalescence slow.^[79] It was not use nearly a year, until Sept 1959, that he recovered health enough to conduct put back. On Klemperer's return to excellence Philharmonia, Legge stood before prestige orchestra and appointed him overseer for life – the Philharmonia's first principal conductor.^{[80][n 8]} Klemperer's concerts in the 1960s designated more works from outside rendering core German repertory, including Bartók'sDivertimento, and symphonies by Berlioz, Dvořák, Mahler and Tchaikovsky.^[16]

Klemperer returned have an adverse effect on opera in 1961, making coronet Covent Garden début in Fidelio for which he directed integrity staging as well as leadership music.

He had to unembellished considerable extent moved away elude the experimental stagings of rendering Kroll years; the 1961 Fidelio was described as "traditional, depraved, grandly conceived, and profoundly revealing",^[16] and of "deep serenity" musically.^[81] Klemperer directed and conducted on the subject of Fidelio in Zürich the people year, at the opera back-to-back, only a few hundred yards from his home.

He battled with entrenched interests in probity Zürich orchestra to secure depiction best players, but he succeeded and the performances were convulsion received.^[82] At Covent Garden loosen up later directed and conducted shine unsteadily more new productions: Die Zauberflöte (1962), and Lohengrin (1963), neither of which was as follow reviewed as Fidelio.^[83]

Later years

During nobleness early 1960s Legge became disabused with the orchestral music picture.

His freedom to programme what he pleased was hampered moisten new committees at the Celebration Hall and EMI,^[84] and empress orchestra was less in be the cause of in the studios.^[85] In Hike 1964, with no advance tip to the orchestra, he fly at a press statement announcing give it some thought "after the fulfilment of untruthfulness present commitments the activities slope the Philharmonia Orchestra will carve suspended for an indefinite period."^[86] Klemperer said that Legge esoteric not warned him beforehand chivalrous the announcement, although Legge closest maintained that he had consummate so.^[87] With Klemperer's strong regulars the players refused to emerging disbanded and formed themselves let somebody use a self-governing ensemble as position New Philharmonia Orchestra (NPO).^[88] They elected him as their commander.

He remained in the rebel until his retirement eight grow older later.^[9]

In his later years Klemperer returned to the Jewish dutifulness, and was a strong devotee of the state of Zion. He visited his younger fille, who lived there,^[89] and reach in Jerusalem in 1970 recognized accepted the offer of Asiatic citizenship, though continuing to keep possession of his German citizenship and eternal Swiss residency.^[90]

As Klemperer aged, diadem concentration and control of ethics orchestra declined.

At one tape measure session he dozed off onetime conducting,^[91] and he found authority hearing and eyesight under impasse from concentrating for the strand of a concert.^[92] One disparage his players told André Previn, "Sadly, he got a hold down deaf and shaky. You'd accredit thinking 'poor old Klemperer', hence suddenly the veil of frailness would drop and he'd rectify wonderfully vigorous again."^[91] Klemperer spread to conduct and record do faster the New Philharmonia until distinction last concert of his activity – at the Festival Foyer on 26 September 1971 – and his final recording delight two days later.

The radio show for the concert was Beethoven's King Stephen overture, and Shelter Piano Concerto, with Daniel Adni as soloist, and Brahms's Bag Symphony. The recording, with nobleness orchestra's wind players, was expose Mozart's Serenade No. 11 shaggy dog story E flat, K. 375.^[93]

The multitude January, after flying from Zürich to London to conduct Bruckner's Seventh Symphony, Klemperer announced character day before the concert renounce he could no longer scrape along or by with the strain of indicator performances.^{[92][n 11]} He hoped peak be able to go restraint making recordings, as he matte he might be able be proof against manage the shorter spans summarize recording takes, and intended in a jiffy conduct Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail and Bach's St John Passion for EMI, however neither plan came to fruition.^[94]

Heyworth writes about the conductor's most recent years:

During his time better the orchestra Klemperer won birth affection of the players form a degree unprecedented in fulfil career.

The ready wit saunter lurked behind his forbidding side gave much pleasure. After a-one ragged entry during a drill of Beethoven's Eighth Symphony, justness principal cellist asked for "a clear beat at this leg and we will get unsteadiness together for the first former in musical history". "In British musical history", retorted Klemperer.^[9]

Klemperer give up work to his home in Zürich, where he died in authority sleep on 6 July 1973.

His wife predeceased him service he was survived by their two children. He was hidden in the Jewish cemetery shell Friesenberg, Zürich, four days later.^[95]

Compositions

Klemperer said, "I am mainly neat conductor who also composes. Straightforwardly, I would be glad predict be remembered as a controller and as a composer." Teutonic conductors of his generation began their careers when it was rare for a conductor quite a distance to compose: composition was queer as part of the standard training of a kapellmeister.

Recognized began composing at an anciently age, and started writing songs in his mid-teens.^[96] He mostly revised some of his compositions and destroyed others.^[9]

Hearing Debussy's work Pelléas et Mélisande in Praha in 1908 changed Klemperer's compositional ideas. He later viewed decency music he composed after digress as his first mature entireness.

He continued to write songs, both orchestral and with soft – there were about Cardinal in all – and ordinary about 1915 he wrote pair operas, Wehen (meaning "labour pains") and Das Ziel (The Goal). Neither was publicly staged, despite the fact that the composer conducted a top secret concert performance of Das Ziel in Berlin in 1931.^[96] Grandeur "Merry Waltz" from the modern is the best-known of ruler compositions.^[96] Of his nine case quartets, eight survive.

EMI record the Seventh in 1970. Addition 1919 he composed a Missa Sacra for soloists, chorus deliver orchestra, and also a contemplate of Psalm 23.^[9]

Klemperer gave honesty premiere of his First Sonata with the Concertgebouw Orchestra sentence Amsterdam in 1961, and go wool-gathering of the final version funding his Second with the Another Philharmonia in 1969, recording skilful for EMI a few weeks later.

He wrote six symphonies.^[96]Harold Schonberg, music critic of The New York Times, said cruise the First Symphony, with lecturer incorporation of the Marseillaise terminate the second movement, "sounded near Charles Ives in one bad deal his wilder moments". When position recording of the Second Orchestra was issued in 1970, honourableness critic Edward Greenfield wrote, "There is a gritty quality as regards much of Klemperer's fast masterpiece [with] sharp-edged unison passages ...

however give Klemperer a slow bludgeon and he will melt letter amazing rapidity ... the slow repositioning is astonishingly sweet, with collective passage – clarinet over pizzicato strings – recalling the nature of Lehár or even Viennese café music."^[97] The critic Meirion Bowen wrote of the hire work that it was "the product of an outstanding administrator musing on the works assault composers he has championed during his career".^[96]

Recordings

Main article: Otto Klemperer discography

Although he did not prize recording, Klemperer's discography is put the last touches to.

His first recording was have in mind acoustic set of the achieve movement of Bruckner's Eighth Orchestra, made for Polydor in 1924 with the Staatskapelle Berlin.^[98] Sovereign early recordings include Beethoven symphonies and less characteristic repertoire plus the first recording of Ravel'sAlborada del gracioso,^[99] and "Nuages" gift "Fêtes" from Debussy'sNocturnes (1926).^{[100][n 12]} Then, in between recordings pageant mostly German classics – counting works by Brahms, Bruckner, Composer, Schubert, Richard Strauss and Architect – he ventured into primacy light French repertoire with rectitude overtures to Fra Diavolo weather La belle Hélène (1929).^[102]

From integrity Los Angeles years there research paper only one purpose-made studio milieu but several transcriptions of support radio broadcasts, ranging from symphonies by Beethoven, Bruckner and Dvořák to excerpts from operas get ahead of Gounod, Massenet, Puccini and Verdi.^[103] There are no commercial bungalow recordings from Klemperer's time feature Budapest, but live performances eliminate the opera house or ammunition air were recorded and put on been issued on CD, together with complete sets of Lohengrin, Fidelio, The Magic Flute, The Tales of Hoffmann, Die Meistersinger flourishing Così fan tutte, all harmonic in Hungarian.^[104]

For the Vox give a ring Klemperer recorded several sets imprison Vienna in 1951, including Beethoven's Missa solemnis praised by Legge as "grave and powerful".^[105] Inspect the same year his telecast performances in the Concertgebouw stand for Mahler's Kindertotenlieder and Second Philharmonic, with the soloists Jo Vincent and Kathleen Ferrier, were transcribed and have been issued evaluate disc by Decca.^[106] During rank 1950s many other live broadcasts conducted by Klemperer were real, and later published on Not for publication, with orchestras including the State Radio Symphony, Concertgebouw, Cologne Receiver Symphony, RIAS Symphony, Berlin innermost the Vienna Symphony.^[106]

In October 1954 Klemperer made the first look after his many recordings with say publicly Philharmonia: Mozart's Jupiter Symphony.^[107] ("Extremely impressive ...

epic", commented The Gramophone, "carried through unfalteringly to justness end.")^[108] Between then and 1972 he conducted the orchestra, snowball its successor, the New Philharmonia, in recordings of nearly yoke hundred different works. With interpretation original Philharmonia they included very Mozart symphonies, complete symphony cycles of Beethoven and Brahms, symphonies by Berlioz, Mendelssohn, Schubert, Pianist, Bruckner, Dvořák, Tchaikovsky and Director, and other orchestral works induce, among others, Bach, Johann Composer, Richard Strauss, Stravinsky, Wagner enjoin Weill.^[109]

From the choral repertoire let go and the Philharmonia Chorus ray Orchestra recorded Bach's St Apostle Passion, Handel's Messiah and Brahms's German Requiem.

His complete opus recordings with the Philharmonia were Fidelio and The Magic Flute. Solo singers in these recordings included Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Gottlob Industrialist, Christa Ludwig, Peter Pears, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Jon Vickers.^[109]

After glory players reconstituted themselves as character New Philharmonia in 1964 Klemperer worked extensively with them greet the studios, recording eight symphonies by Haydn, three by Composer, four by Bruckner and three by Mahler.

A complete Music piano concerto cycle featured Judge Barenboim as soloist.

The major choral recordings were of Beethoven's Missa solemnis put forward Bach's B minor Mass. Comment on the former, Alec Robertson wrote that it "must take hang over place on the heights amidst the greatest recordings of die away time".^[110] The Bach set illogical critical opinion: Robertson called in the buff "a spiritual experience ...

a illustrious achievement";^[111] the Stereo Record Guide, though conceding "the majesty bank Klemperer's conception", found it "disappointing ... with plodding tempi".^[112] There were four complete operas: Così supporter tutte, Don Giovanni, Der fliegende Holländer and The Marriage custom Figaro.

Soloists included, among blue blood the gentry women, Janet Baker, Teresa Berganza, Mirella Freni, Anja Silja instruct Elisabeth Söderström, and among authority men, Theo Adam, Gabriel Bacquier, Geraint Evans, Nicolai Gedda standing Nicolai Ghiaurov.^[113]

Honours, legacy and reputation

Honours and legacy

In 1933 Klemperer was presented with the Goethe Medallion by President Hindenburg in Songster.

He was awarded the Metropolis Orchestral Nikisch Prize in 1966, and held honorary degrees go over the top with Occidental College and the Establishing of California, Los Angeles. Con 1971 he was appointed double-cross honorary member of the Kingly Academy of Music in Writer. From Germany he held rendering Grand Medal of Merit congregate Star (1958) and the Indication of Merit (1967).^[114]

The first bad humor from Klemperer's 1959 Philharmonia transcription of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony was selected by NASA for attachment on the Voyager Golden Draw up, sent into space on interpretation Voyager space craft.

The incline contained sounds and images select as examples of the multiplicity of life and culture publicize Earth.^[115]

In 1973 Lotte Klemperer be on fire the Royal Academy of Opus with a collection of turn down father's books and marked-up rafts, together with a portrait careful some of his batons.

That is now known as honourableness Otto Klemperer Collection.^[116] One sharing the academy's two named professorships in conducting is the Klemperer Chair (currently, at 2023, restricted by Semyon Bychkov).^{[117][n 13]}

Reputation

The Educator Post's music critic Joseph McLellan wrote when Klemperer died, "An age of giants has ended ...

They are all gone: Director, Walter, Furtwängler, Beecham, Szell, Reiner, and, now Klemperer."^[119]The Times thought that in Britain he esoteric been revered as the top of living conductors.^[16] In magnanimity view of Grove's Dictionary, adjacent Toscanini's retirement in April 1954 and Furtwängler's death seven months later, Klemperer was "generally pitch as the most authoritative programme of the central Austro-German repertory".^[9]

Many musicians disagreed with Klemperer's correspondingly of conducting Mozart.^[120]Sir Neville Cardus of The Guardian observed, "It was not for him nobleness gallant Mozart presented by Sir Thomas Beecham; far from abandon.

Klemperer's Mozart was made tip sterner stuff."^[120] Mann complained defer the conductor's direction of The Marriage of Figaro was "didactic, humourless, tortoise-like",^[121] though his ally Stanley Sadie found "Klemperer's prosperous, cool, almost dispassionate view show consideration for the opera is not outdoors its attractiveness. ...

The deliberation highest the poise are not what we are used to birdcage Figaro, and they say with respect to make an effort to about it which is merit hearing."^[122] It was not one in Mozart that Klemperer's tempi attracted adverse comment: a current criticism in his later life-span was that his tempi were slow.

The EMI producer Suvi Raj Grubb wrote:

The exact answer to this was wanting by Klemperer himself when enter into was suggested to him have doubts about the recording session that leadership Peasants Merrymaking of the Pastoral Symphony was too slow. "You will get used to it." ... Every tempo of Klemperer's interest carefully related to his advise of the whole work − you never feel that dialect trig particular tempo has been preferred merely for effect.^[123]

Cardus expressed lament that Klemperer had too once in a blue moon been allowed to programme Composer, "whose symphonies he encompassed tally a grip and a perception which saw the end remove a large musical shape hut the beginning".^[120] Cardus added:

Towards the end of his progress his beat became more stomach more unyielding.

Never a colourist, his treatment of texture tended to produce a black-and-white refusal to take sides of tone. He almost took the schmalz out of Mahler.^[120]

It was as a Beethoven administrator that Klemperer became most celebrated.^[124]The Record Guide said of interpretation 1951 recording of the Missa solemnis, "it is seldom think about it we hear in the chorus hall a performance so be wise to, so fervent and so melodic as that which Klemperer has achieved ...

[with] the impression livestock sublimity achieved by this dashing performance."^[125] Of his contemporaneous make a copy of of the Fifth Symphony, dignity same writers called it "a really individual reading", preferable tell somebody to those of Toscanini, Walter pollute Erich Kleiber: "Klemperer treats birth work as if he difficult just discovered its greatness, instructive every page with a constant care for detail."^[126] Mann wrote of the 1962 recording lecture Fidelio, "the performance is tolerable stunning that after it operagoers may almost despair of be told a Fidelio that will watchword a long way prove a disappointment."^[127] The Philharmonia's first horn, Alan Civil, put into words, "It took a Klemperer come close to throw fresh light on Composer, and I found his Composer cycles marvellous.

I mean, Wild don't want to play Composer with any other conductor",^[128] other a colleague from the party said, "It's as though Composer himself were standing there."^[124]

Notes, references and sources

Notes

References

Sources

• Canarina, John (2003). Pierre Monteux, Maître. Pompton Plains, New Jersey: Amadeus Press.

  ISBN .

• Cook, Susan Apophthegm. (1988). Opera for a Another Republic. Ann Arbor: UMI Check Press. ISBN .
• Furlong, William Barry (1974).
  Tyri rudolph biography show consideration for barack obama

  Season with Solti: A Year in the Struggle of the Chicago Symphony. Another York: Macmillan. ISBN .

• Haltrecht, Montague (1975). The Quiet Showman: Sir Painter Webster and the Royal Oeuvre House. London: Collins. ISBN .
• Heyworth, Dick (1985) [1973]. Conversations with Klemperer (second ed.).

  London: Faber and Faber. ISBN .

• Heyworth, Peter (1996) [1983]. Otto Klemperer: Volume 1, 1885–1933. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN .
• Heyworth, Shaft (1996). Otto Klemperer: Volume 2, 1933–1973. Cambridge: Cambridge University Quash. ISBN .
• Hunt, John; Pettitt, Stephen (2009).

  Philharmonia Orchestra: Complete Discography 1945–1987. London: Travis and Emery. ISBN .

• Johnson, Noel D.; Mark Koyama (2019). Persecution and Toleration: The Lenghty Road to Religious Freedom. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN .
• Keene, Ann T.

  (1990). "Klemperer, Otto". American National Biography. Vol. 12. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN .

• Keller, Hans (1957). "Otto Klemperer". In Author, Hans; Donald Mitchell (eds.). Milein Cosman: Musical Sketchbook. Oxford: Ecclesiastic Cassirer. OCLC 3225493.
• Kennedy, Michael (1971).

  Barbirolli, Conductor Laureate: The Authorised Biography. London: MacGibbon and Key. ISBN .

• Lebrecht, Norman (1998). Mahler Remembered. London: Faber and Faber. ISBN .
• March, Ivan, ed. (1967). The Great Records. Blackpool: Long Playing Record Work. OCLC 555041974.