Klemperer’s “Nineteenth Century Miscellany”

On the basis of the content released in the first volume of the Warner Classics Remastered Edition of recordings, it would be fair to say that the nineteenth century was the “sweet spot” for conductor Otto Klemperer. Having examined his extensive focus on Ludwig van Beethoven and generous recordings of the music of Johannes Brahms, Richard Wagner, and Anton Bruckner, it is now time to address the other nineteenth-century composers that signified in his repertoire. It would be fair to say that the Klemperer legacy accounts for an impressive breadth along with a few instances of what might be called “moderate depth.”

That latter category applies, for the most part, to symphonies. As has already been documented, both Beethoven and Brahms were given the “complete symphonies” treatment. The other composer that is similarly thorough is Robert Schumann, whose four symphonies are conjoined with an account of his Opus 54 piano concerto in A minor. The pianist for that recording is Annie Fischer, who also plays Franz Liszt’s first concerto in E-flat major on that album.

The first three of the Schumann symphonies are coupled with overtures: “Manfred” (Opus 115), “Genova” (Opus 81), and the incidental music for Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The fourth Schumann symphony, on the other hand, is coupled with Felix Mendelssohn’s Opus 90, his fourth symphony known as the “Italian.” The only other Mendelssohn symphony is the Opus 56 (“Scottish”) in A minor, which is coupled, logically enough, with the Opus 26 (“Hebrides”) overture. Mendelssohn is also represented by a full CD of incidental music (Opus 61) composed for William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Other notable symphony collections are situated at opposite ends of the century. On the early side we have three symphonies by Franz Schubert: D. 485 in B-flat major, D. 759 (“Unfinished”) in B minor, and D. 944 (“Great”) in C major. There is also a previously unreleased track of the opening movement of D. 417 in C minor. At the other end one encounters the last three of the six symphonies of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Opus 36 in F minor, Opus 64 in E minor, and Opus 74 (“Pathétique”) in B minor.

The only other symphonies in the collection are Hector Berlioz’ Opus 14, given the programmatic title “Symphonie fantastique,” César Franck’s three-movement symphony in D minor, and Antonín Dvořák’s Opus 95 (“From the new world”) in E minor. Other tracks account for a generous number of overtures; and, where Engelbert Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel is concerned, the overture is coupled with the “Traumpantomime” (dream pantomime). Most likely, all of these offerings will be familiar to most listeners. Nevertheless, Klemperer is a stickler for details, meaning that, more often than not, listeners are likely to encounter a generous number of fresh perspectives not previously considered.