Symphonies 1 & 2 (2004)

Otto Klemperer belongs to the select group of 20th-century conductors whose fame is such that old recordings of him are being reissued to this day. Those recordings actually give a poorly accurate picture of his repertoire. They mainly date from his later years, when he mainly conducted the well-known classical-romantic repertoire. In his early years, however, he had been a passionate advocate for new music. Some of that resonates in the symphonies recorded here. It is especially striking that they only came into existence in his later years: in 1961 and 1968. Klemperer was therefore not a failed composer who had started conducting for lack of success. These pieces arose from an intense inner urge that Klemperer felt quite uncomfortable about, by the way. because he doubted his compositional gifts. The Symphony No. 2 in particular suffers from a certain sketchy shortness of breath. Nevertheless, it is worthwhile to become acquainted with the musical productions of such a complex personality as Klemperer.