Yes the tempos that Klemperer used do tend to be quite a bit slower than the rest of his contemories like Bruno Walter and Mengelberg but if you read any of the biographies of Mahler it is no coincidence to find out that Mahler himself tended to conduct his symphonies a lot slower himself so I do tend to like his symphonies with a little breathing space.
Klemperer Mahler 7 mystery?
A question to all Mahler afficionados here. I'm a great admirer of Otto Klemperer. His stoic, 'objective' interpretations of the classics have a ring of 'truth' and have 'aged' remarkable well. This would surely include his Mahler recordings of Symphony no. 2, 4 and 9 and Das Lied Von Der Erde. But what about his 7th?
I play this set every once in a while, like today, hoping to finally get it. But like before I can't (under)stand it. I wish my turntable could change gear without changing the pitch. It sounds as if it comes from another universe with a different time scale. I've read that Klemperer was in very ill health at the time of the recording and I'm aware that conductors in their 'old age' tend to slow down their choice of tempo. But this is just sooooo slooooooow, it must have been fully intentional.
Does anyone know the story about this recording?
I play this set every once in a while, like today, hoping to finally get it. But like before I can't (under)stand it. I wish my turntable could change gear without changing the pitch. It sounds as if it comes from another universe with a different time scale. I've read that Klemperer was in very ill health at the time of the recording and I'm aware that conductors in their 'old age' tend to slow down their choice of tempo. But this is just sooooo slooooooow, it must have been fully intentional.
Does anyone know the story about this recording?