Symphony No. 1 is where Beethoven meets Haydn. The conductor's ability to do justice to both is the mark of a successful interpretation. Klemperer's recording of October 1957 with the Philharmonia Orchestra is among the best.

States American Record Guide reviewer Stephen D. Chakwin, "Klemperer, more than any other conductor I have heard, conveys both the Haydnesque nature of this piece, with its good spirits and considerable wit, and the individual touches that Beethoven, even at the beginning of his symphonic career, was adding. The rhythmic displacements, sudden flareups of energy, and traces of Mozartian chromatic harmony are all carefully integrated into the Haydnesque structure and themes. This performance tells us in an unusually graceful and coherent way where Beethoven the symphonist came from and where he was headed."

Chakwin further praises the "gentle trot" tempo adopted by Klemperer, which substitutes a clear pulse, well-shaped phrases, and "the open, well-ventilated textures appropriate in works of this period" for the "incoherent babble" in the faster passages commonly presented by other interpreters. Jim Sveda, in The Record Shelf Guide to Classical CDs and Audiocassettes, singles out for praise Klemperer's "light and delicate touch that characterized all of his admirable Haydn recordings."

CD: EMIC667922 Klemperer Legacy Beethoven Symphonies 1 & 6
Originally recorded October 1957 with the Philharmonia Orchestra in Kingsway Hall, London.
Sources: German Music Express Tower Records: 1-800-ASK-TOWER

Symphony No. 6 "Pastoral" One story has it that parts of this symphony were composed when Beethoven was perched in a tree - two trees, actually (though not simultanously), both reportedly preserved in Vienna. Another states that he stood on the banks of a Vienna Woods stream on the spot immortalized by the Beethoven Walk pictured here.

Klemperer's 1958 recording with the Philharmonia Orchestra, a "carefully thought out performance which encompasses Beethoven's musical plan, his tone painting, and his philosophical overview" praised by Chakwin for its balance and honesty, works on many levels. But, like Beethoven, it remains firmly in touch with the earth that inspired it.

Adds Michael Mark, "His Pastorale is wonderfully lyrical, sensitive, and gentle when required by the music. Perhaps the storm sounds Wagnerian when Klemperer unleashes his orchestral torrents, but its power can't be denied."

CD: EMIC667922 Klemperer Legacy Beethoven Symphonies 1 & 6
Originally recorded October 1957 with the Philharmonia Orchestra in Kingsway Hall, London. (For an anecdote about this recording, click here.)
Sources: German Music Express Tower Records: 1-800-ASK-TOWER