We looked at length at volume 1, symphonic, in a double page of the DMag which retraced the career and described the art and style of Otto Klemperer, a modernist leader very attentive to the woods, where Karajan unrolled a carpet of ropes. We wrote: “The operas are the essential part of his legacy which will certainly be the subject of a second box set. » Originally, Klemperer was an immense opera conductor. Fidelio, The Magic Flute, The Ghost Ship remain references. We also have the three Mozart-Da Ponte operas and the 1er act of The Valkyrie. Basically, the recorded legacy is meager relative to the stature of the man. The sacred works are musically very imposing, 1960s style: The Messiah, Mass in B, Passion according to Saint Matthew bear witness to an era. But when we move on to Missa solemnis by Beethoven and German Requiem of Brahms, we speak of solid lasting milestones. The box set is an essential complement to the first, because Klemperer cannot be understood without this work and these references.
To watch on video