Product description CD Review First things first: purely in terms of sound this is the finest monaural recording of the Ninth Symphony that I have ever encountered, exceptionally accurate in timbre, uncommonly wide in dynamic range (even by stereophonic, digital standards), and with a presence and impact that seem to put one squarely in an ideal seat in the hall. But what of the performance? It is certainly interesting, if for no other reason than revealing that Klemperer, like many other great conductors, is unpredictable, often changing his mind about a work from one presentation to the next. Here, the first movement, even by Klemperer's standards, is unrelentingly broad, lacking the tautness and tension of his great 1961 live account (Testament 1332) that in 28:1 I claimed to be the conductor's finest among his many preserved presentations of the score and certainly one of the great phonographic Ninths. Its one shortcoming, perhaps, is a rather slack second movement. The same holds true for that movement in this account, again featuring both repeats and avoiding the often-favored instrumental emendations suggested by Weingartner. One interesting feature of all the Klemperer Ninths I've heard is his refusal to sentimentalize the third movement: he is never unduly slow; indeed, sometimes he was even faster than was Toscanini. Here he is clearly slower than in 1961 by a full minute, but still not as expansive as many other conductors--notably Furtwängler, Solti, and Tennstedt--have been. The finale in this performance is strange, one of the few instances where Klemperer occasionally sounds mannered. The instrumental statement of the main theme and ensuing variations unfolds at a comparatively rapid pace, the D-Major eruption of the full orchestra being especially grand and festive. But the pace is not maintained when the chorus enters. Put differently, the movement is a bit more disjointed here than in other Klemperer accounts. Still, the soloists and chorus are mainly superb, Hans Hotter being every bit as distinguished here as he was a decade earlier when he participated in Karajan's first (78-rpm) recording of the work. And the close of the movement is free of the almost hysterical acceleration that infects the accounts of Weingartner and Furtwängler. A brief two-minute snippet of Klemperer singing as he rehearses the chorus for this performance completes the disc. In short this is a release that the conductor's devotees may well want to pursue, but those who wish to experience Klemperer at his best in this score should turn to the aforementioned Testament disc. -- Fanfare, Mortimer H. Frank, Nov/Dec 2009
B**N
A "live" Klemperer gem
We are not short of Beethoven no. 9 recordings under Otto Klemperer's baton. In all, there are at least eight Klemperer performances of the ninth on official CDs or on bootleg. One in studio - from his legendary cycle for EMI ( Beethoven: The Complete Symphonies and Piano Concertos ). Several other from concert performances, e.g., the Testament edition of the concert preceeding the studio recording, with identical soloists ( Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 "Choral" ). Both of these are first-rate interpretations; indeed, I would say that they must be seen as the first choices for this symphony, closely followed by those great ninths that we have from Ferenc Fricsay ( Beethoven: Symphonie No. 9; Overture "Egmont" ), Wilhelm Furtwängler ( Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 (Hybrid SACD) ), and Peter Maag ( Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 ).The present recording incarnates a concert performance in Cologne 1958 - the year after he recorded his classic recording for EMI, with Philharmonia (1957). (As far as I known, this is the first official edition of the Cologne reading. The label - Medici Masters - is from the the same company that publish BBC Legends.) Now we have German forces: Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra (Köln RSO). Soloists are similar as in the EMI recording: Stader, Hoffman, Kmentt and Hotter - in my view a better team than in the EMI recording.In terms of performance, the orchestra plays very well and the soloists are simply superb. The interpretation is not identical to the EMI/Testament-Philharmonia editions: Klemperer's tempi are more flexible here; evidently he's more relaxed or inspired by the moment. The typical feature in Klemperer's interpretations is evident: clear contributions from every department are important for him - forte means always forte and nothing else (the obvious contrast is the well-mixed smoothies we have from von Karajan).Even if I cherish Klemperer's 1957 studio ninth and its live counterpart with Philharmonia, this is perhaps a greater interpretation and performance: the soloists are slightly better, and Klemperer's interpretation has more drive in Cologne. Great intensity and superb structural clarity.Sound is mono, but it's good as such. A fine edition, with an informative booklet note. A short rehearsal of the performance is given as a fill-up, with the choir and a singing Klemperer at the piano. The applause is edited out, the audience is well-behaving.In sum: essential. Warmly recommended!
N**S
New Remastered Version Available
A remastered version of this recording in synthesized full frequency and stereo is now available on YouTube. Just search for "Kölner RSO, Klemperer"
A**O
熱い雰囲気が伝わるＣＤ
音質がもう一つなのは仕方が無い。雰囲気の伝わるＣＤでした。納期、包装は問題なし。
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