Robert Schumann - The Symphonies (Otto Klemperer)

Robert SCHUMANN (1810-1856)

The Symphonies

CD1

Symphony No. 1 in B flat, Op.38 Spring*

rec. Abbey Road Studio No 1, London, 21-23, 25 and 27 October 1965

Symphony No. 2 in C, Op.61*

rec. Abbey Road Studio No 1, London, 3, 5 and 6 October 1968

 

CD2

Symphony No. 3 in E flat, Op.97 Rhenish*

rec. Abbey Road Studio No 1, London, 5-8 February 1969

Symphony No. 4 in D minor, Op.120 

rec. Kingsway Hall, London, 4-5 May 1960

Scenes from Goethe’s Faust , WoO 3: Overture *

rec. Abbey Road Studio No 1, London, 8 February 1969

Philharmonia and *New Philharmonia Orchestras

Otto Klemperer

The Schumann Symphonies bring another “Klemperer problem”. So far all performances have been with the Philharmonia Orchestra, which Walter Legge disbanded in 1964, at least partly in order to pull the rug from under the feet of a conductor whom he felt was failing in his powers, including his hearing. The orchestra re-formed itself immediately as the New Philharmonia and made Klemperer its President. Nevertheless, his performances over the following nine years grew increasingly ponderous, even embarrassing to some ears. The “Rhenish” Symphony, the latest performance in this entire box, led the E.M.G. Monthly Letter, not an automatic admirer of Klemperer at the best of times, to “wonder if the great name of Otto Klemperer is being exploited regardless of the results”. For the uninitiated, the presence of the New Philharmonia, rather than the Philharmonia, can sound a warning bell but it isn’t that simple. The trend was downward but Klemperer’s powers didn’t suddenly desert him one day in the middle of 1964. Schumann’s First Symphony, set down about a year into the new regime, is actually the Schumann performance I found most rewarding.

 

There’s a certain air of defiance to it, a sense of “I’ll-show-them-I’m-not-played-out-yet”. After a grand, imposing – if not always ideally precise – introduction the Allegro molto vivace leaps into life with terrific, stomping rhythm. The tempo is certainly not fast, which means Klemperer has space for much tender phrasing in second subject territory. Yet the abiding impression is of coursing vitality, with a coda that really blazes. The Larghetto is intense, amply phrased with full yet luminous sound. The Scherzo emerges as a lolloping landler with a surging rhythm, the first trio is a bucolic contredanse, the second a run for cover. The end is poetically handled. The woodland revels of the finale are certainly given their time – Furtwängler took a similar view – but the episodes are firmly charted and the end is thrilling with baying trombones. A great performance.

 

From three years later, the Second Symphony is to be approached with more caution. Yet all is not lost. The introduction is very broad but it does get under way. The Allegro ma non troppo has a majestic vitality and strong conviction. It has to be said that this tempo doesn’t help to disguise Schumann’s repetitive development but in the end sheer guts mostly save the day. The Scherzo is very far from a virtuoso spin à la Szell, but it is quite light and dancing even so. The rallentandos and tempo changes in the first trio come off rather shakily – more guidance was needed than the conductor was able to give. When the scherzo returns it risks running ahead at a faster tempo, but Klemperer regains control in a few bars. The return of the motto theme does make more sense than usual at this slowish tempo, I must say. The Adagio espressivo is gravely beautiful, the syncopated accompaniment setting up a troubled groundswell. The tempo is not especially slow. Only a patch of bad ensemble between staccato strings and the wind band prevents this movement from being a complete success. The finale is grand, almost like a patriotic hymn. A certain rhythmic swing prevents it from getting too heavy. The Beethoven “An die ferne Geliebte” theme is broadly sung. The return of the third movement theme and of the motto theme at the end sound natural in this tempo. So, while the impression remains that it would have all come off better a few years earlier there is still a lot to be gleaned here.

 

Rather less from the Rhenish Symphony. The very slow first movement opens with a certain majestic splendour but tension is not held and I found myself simply noting which parts just about worked at this tempo and which didn’t. It was a weary slog to the end. The middle movements are more plausible. Though the Scherzo is slow it is well-phrased with a serene flow and the different episodes certainly fit together beautifully at this pace. As for the third movement, most performances of this are too fast for me, and Klemperer is not much slower than René Leibowitz, whose leisurely reading – in the context of an otherwise bracing, exhilarating performance – I adore. Klemperer is more introverted in his expression than Leibowitz, but not less effective. The solemn fourth movement comes off well. But the finale is a real problem. Klemperer’s interpretation of Lebhaft is to offer a perky little march, quite light and charming but it seems to go on for ever. It has to be said that the return of themes from earlier movements is made into an entirely natural conclusion, whereas other conductors either breeze through or slow down pompously. So no doubt the Klemperer formula would have worked in his halcyon days. As it is, if the idea of an expansive Rhenish Symphony appeals to you, late Celibidache in Munich is almost as slow – slower in the third and fourth movements – and brought off with more sense of continuity.

 

I feel a little guilty in finding the First Symphony my favourite, since the Fourth Symphony is a vintage Klemperer/Philharmonia performance and most critics have rated it the big success of the cycle. As with other cyclical works, Klemperer has worked out a ground-plan where the thematic signposts all come out at about the same speed whenever they occur. So the theme of the introduction, in itself not especially slow, fits perfectly into the faster-than-usual Romanze. And the solo violin figuration from the Romanze re-emerges in the trio to the Scherzo, pretty briskly both times. The motto themes shared between the first and last movements seem part of a unified conception, not a scissors-and-paste job by the composer. If this sounds academic, the result in performance is not at all pedantic because it is done with total conviction. If there isn’t the uniquely re-creative zeal of Furtwängler’s extraordinary realization, there is scarcely less incandescence. One reservation I have is that when Schumann bangs away at sequences in the place of real development – as he is inclined to do in even his finest large-scale works – Klemperer is simply too honest to disguise it. I noticed this at times in the finale. Here the Furtwängler technique of starting such passages below tempo and accelerating through them yields greater dividends. A magnificent, fiery performance all the same.

Christopher Howell (Extracted from "The Klemperer Edition - Romantic symphonies and overtures" Box Musicweb Review)