Gustav Mahler, Otto Klemperer, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Hilde Rossl-Majdan, Philharmonia Orchestra & Chorus - Mahler: Symphony No. 2 / Klemperer, Philharmonia Orchestra

Mediocre

I have four recordings of this symphony: this one, Bernstein (NY Phil); Solti (LSO); and Slatkin (St. Louis). This performance conducted by Klemperer is by far the worst. Tempi and dynamics regularly ignore Mahler's instructions, ensemble is sloppy, ugly instrumental tone quality abounds, and intonation is horrendous, especially in the all-important final measures, with everyone apparently playing as loudly as they can without regard to balance or tone quality. The Slatkin recording with the St. Louis Symphony (who would have guessed!) is the best: superb in all of these categories. I also highly recommend the Bernstein, not for its accuracy, but for the special excitement he brings to the score. However, be aware that it is more Bernstein than Mahler. February 12, 2008

Klemperer's Mahler...a different kind of guy

For some reason it is hard for me to imagine that Otto Klemperer was at one time a colleague of Mahler's...(he directed the chorus of this symphony at the premier)...his temperament just doesn't seem to 'fit' what we (mostly because of Bernstein) think of as 'Mahlerian'.

So when you approach this disc, you must first lay aside any hope of breathless exoticism et al. The thing about Klemperer's performance is that he keeps it alive with just the right amount of brevity---gravity. It is all too easy to conduct Mahler's music as if it was Debussy... blurring the lines. Klemperer fleshes out the lines, and keeps them that way.
Is this a riveting performance? It isn't "white heat" like Sir Simon Rattle, but it is certainly superb. There's a reason it has gained such acceptance as THE Mahler 2. But you have to be willing to listen more than once, if only to get past other performances you may have heard. September 24, 2007

Oldie but Goodie

This is a majestic and stately recording. But I find it pretty exciting too. Did NOT find the tempos "too slow" as some contend. I own several versions of this symphony. But is is my favorite. Technical quality is pretty good and no faults stand out. This recording is a bargain. I have Solti, Bairenboims, Stokowski and some others. But his is my favorite. If I were new to this piece, I would start here to see if I want to go further. The old stereo is pretty good and a really good sound system makes this recording a joy. Many "newer" recordings lose the forest for the trees. This is a real gem. July 11, 2006

m2klem

Proclaiming a recording a "classic" or "great" springs from a mixed collection of who likes what and how the performance was originally received.
This one is both to my tastes. I, and listeners way before my time, like the Angel sound, the Philharmonia, and the feeling that shows up when Klemperer conducts this tune.
...it is hard for me to find an m2 i don't like something about! I even have the old Klemperer/Vienna Sym/Vox from 1950. That is interesting, too.
If one likes m2, this Angel recording will be enjoyable.

dj January 28, 2006

If this is a great recording, stick to the mediocre ones...

An internetforum for classical music afficionados that I visit at times, has a recurring topic called "name the greatest recording of (a particular work)". Over time, I started noticing that no matter what the work was, the vast majority of recordings nominated would stem from the early sixties, the fifties, and not rarely even earlier. I tend to regard this as a peculiar brand of musical snobbism, but try to keep an open mind. So when this Klemperer disc from 1962 was voted, with overwhelming majority, to be the greatest recording ever of Mahler 2, I went ahead and got myself a copy. I generally tend to avoid such old recordings because in my experience, their sonics are simply not up to the task set by a symphony of this size and complexity. Surprisingly, however, the sound may well be the best feature of this recording. No doubt some clever fiddling with the "Prism SNS system" (see the back cover) squeezed every last drop of sound out of the original tape. The bass is impressively rich, even too rich at times, and the antiphonal first and second violins are clearly detailed throughout. Yet the dynamic range is truncated at both ends, and, as usual in recordings this old, big, intricate climaxes are not handled at all well. Which unfortunately means that the thrilling, goosebump provoking culmination points that Mahler works so hard to achieve in this symphony, end up as featureless, opaque blurs. The famous percussion crescendos in the finale are total non-events, and the final climax does not blaze. It's like watching a complicated thriller and then being ushered out of the cinema just before the dénouement.

But if only that were all. However, sonics aside, I must admit that after listening to this disc I was left completely puzzled as to why this would qualify as a "great recording of the century". Simply because Klemperer is conducting and we are allowed to hear Schwarzkopf's disappointingly wobbly soprano? Klemperer met Mahler, so his Mahler must be good? Has the mythology around these names evolved sufficiently to convince us that sloppy ensemble, out of tune instruments, ignoration of the composer's instructions, and general lack of inspiration amount to great music making? Well, not for me; even in the brief fragment of the first track that you can listen to here on Amazon, you'll hear a bassoon defiantly coming in a full beat too early. And it goes on like that, and on and on. The violins are out of sync on many occasions. Instrumental entrances are incomprehensibly approximate, time and again. The Scherzo is plodding and humourless, and features horribly out of tune flutes somewhere near the beginning. The first few bars of Urlicht struck me as refreshingly unfussy, but lead into an ungainly, foursquare reading that lacks any poetry whatsoever, and has an ugly crescendo on "leuchten", where Mahler writes pp. Then again, Klemperer does not care much about Mahler's many markings anyway. Rather than giving us an "ernst" and "feierlich" first movement, Klemperer hurries through as if he has a train to catch. Phrases are hardly allowed to breathe. At the end, where Mahler wants Tempo I for the downward runs of triplets, Klemperer makes a mad dash for it. Another characteristic instance occurs just before nr. 46 in the finale: Mahler writes "nicht schleppen" and K. slows down; then, at 46, Mahler writes "Langsam" and K. switches to a faster tempo. If that is greatness, I can do without it. I'm a long-time fan of Kaplan's first recording of this work, which is dedicated, precise, exciting and moving all at the same time. But Haitink, Bernstein (DG), Mehta (Decca) and many others too offer alternatives that are far more impressive than this unbelievably overrated disc. October 11, 2005

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