This morning, I am listening to renowned German conductor Otto Klemperer, the Philharmonia Orchestra, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 4 in B flat Major.
Klemperer (father of actor Werner Klemperer, of Hogan’s Heroes fame) was born in the 1880s and lived to be 88 years of age, passing away in 1973. That’s a good, long run. (He was 72 in this recording.)
In this Beethoven project of mine, I have experienced Maestro Klemperer three times before. On…
Day 12. Rating: “Huzzah!”
Day 30. Rating: “Meh!”
Day 48. Rating: “Huzzah!”
What will today bring?
Beethoven wrote his symphonies in four parts (except for the Sixth, which is in five). The time breakdown of this particular one (Symphony No. 4 in B flat Major), from this particular conductor (Klemperer, at at 72) and this particular orchestra (Philharmonia Orchestra), at this particular time in history (October 29 & October 21 & 22, 1957) on this particular record label (Warner Classics) is as follows:
I. Adagio – Allegro vivace……………………………………………………………….12:27
II. Adagio…………………………………………………………………………………………10:01
III. Allegro molto e vivace – Trio. Un poco meno allegro………………..5:50
IV. Allegro ma non troppo………………………………………………………………..7:30
Total running time: 35:08
My Rating:
Recording quality: 4 (Warner Classics is known for high-quality recordings. Aside from some noticeable – and justifiable for its age- tape hiss, this one is no exception, although there seems to be less dynamic range in this recording, like the treble has been dialed back a bit)
Overall musicianship: 4
CD liner notes: 4 (standard Warner Classics booklet with lots of information, and an essay about Klemperer in English, German, and French)
How does this make me feel: 4 (seemed too long, not engaging…overall, “Meh!”)
I wanted to like this performance. But I don’t. It’s not horrible. But it seemed to drag on too long. Plus, I wasn’t feeling the excitement, the passion. It seemed to lack whatever spark it is that turns me on when I listen to music.
And that’s strange. Because all of my hot buttons were there – the pizzicato strings, the French horns. But it wasn’t jelling for me.
The length (35:08) may have something to do with it. Or maybe it’s my knees. Or my growling stomach. There are a zillion factors that may influence a person’s liking to a particular recording or not. For me, today, at this time, I wasn’t feeling this.
Frankly, I think it has something to do with (a) the tempo, which seems a little ponderous, and (b) the way it was recorded. I’ve heard a lot of each of these symphonies. I know when a passage or an instrument stands out in one performance compared to another. I heard instruments in this performance (oboe? horn?) that were recorded in such a way – with the microphone nearer to them – that they stood out. It was distracting to hear an instrument “out of place” like that. (I put “out of place” in quote marks because they weren’t likely out of place, just mic’ed in such a way that they stood out in a distracting way.)
I’m sorry, Maestro Klemperer. I have to rate this “Meh!”