Search - Gustav Mahler, Otto Klemperer, Vienna Symphony Orchestra :: Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde

Fascinating for some breakneck tempos and Klemperer's insigh

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 11/01/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Otto Klemperer's early mono recordings for Vox, most of them pre-stereo, have come into the public domain. This Archipel issue is a 24-bit remastering of the Vox original,and it sounds like a so-so studio job from the early Fifties. of the two soloists, the youthful Anton Dermota sounds like a prince among Viennese tenors, and he has almost enough voice for his extremely taxing part; Elsa Calveti is teady and ol-fashioned sounding but sings with little emotiona involvement in the text.



The main reason to try this CD out is Klemperer's astonishing tempo choices -- he races through the score in 52 min. copared to his later, much acclaimed version on EMI, which takes 11 min. longer (seven of them in the final song). His change from speed demon to slow poke is well known, but at any speed Klemperer was a born Mahlerian, and there are many lovely touches here. Besides the primitive sound, be prepared also for the scrappy Vienna Sym., a poor cousin of the great Vienna Phil."