A different kind of Stravinsky
10/05/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I suppose that Klemperer's most devoted admirers should take this kind words for this release with a large grain of salt, for I am not one of you. I discovered classical music as a teenager in the seventies, and as a teenager I found most of his stereo recordings unendurable, too stiff and stodgy for my taste. Now I am older if not wiser, and I still find most of these recordings to be a mixed bag. On the one hand there is solid musicianship, very expressive playing (I suppose that it has taken too many years of hearing too flabby listless performances to value the simple virtue of hearing musicians playing the notes with some edge, playing as if it meant something to them.) On the other side, it feels too often that the musicians are fighting the slow tempos imposed on them, and the climaxes collapses under the excessive weight.
There is an element of that in this Petroushka. Certainly the opening of the first movement is shaky, but once you are past that it settles into a very distinctive performance. Klemperer had a long association with the Stravinsky (he was a champion of the composer during the thirties, when he was thought of more as a French composer.) But Klemperer approaches the music in a different way than Stravinsky or most anyone else. In performances of his own music, Stravinsky worked for sharp accents (he would ask his players to play "accent-piano"; that is, he wanted even the soft passages to be played crisply.) And most performances of Stravinsky correspond to the composer's template. Not so with Klemperer. He seems to have viewed this music less in terms of the accent than in terms of the phrase. Time after time he has called forth very expressive, nuanced phrasing from his players, to a degree that I cannot recall in this music, even in performance by his contemporaries (such as Monteux or Ansermet). This is even more true of the Pulcinella suite that fills out the disc. Indeed, I would have loved to have sat in on the rehearsals for this performance: it would have been fascinating ot hear how he got such loving, eccentric phrasing out of his players. (One regret: space limitations required that the original disc-mate for Puncinella, The Symphony in Three Movements, was sacrificed. If that performance was up to the level of the Pulcinella, it would be a shame if it had to be consigned to the dustbin of history.)
For this reason, I would say that this disc should bought by everything serious about Stravinsky. Klemperer was no longer capable of preserving his ideas as well as he could have just a few years earlier, but he was still able to show that there are possibilities in this music that go beyond this standard Stravinsky performance. And there ideas should be heard and considered and enjoyed."
A Different World
Mark Jordan | Gambier, Ohio, USA | 10/13/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Attention, all potential buyers: If you are looking for a standard, traditional "Petrushka," look elsewhere. If, however, you've heard so many traditional versions of the work that you've stopped following the latest releases, you might want to invest in this "forgotten" recording by the great Otto Klemperer and his amazing Philharmonia Orchestra. In true Klemperer fashion, it brings some unexpected angles to this early Stravinsky masterpiece, paying more attention to the inherent drama of the music than most other recordings. Yes, it is a late Klemperer recording (1967), so the pacing is often much slower than normal, but he always keeps the rhythms sharply and energetically sprung, so that he's able to be poised and nimble even at paces that would be lethargic in other conductors' hands. This spaciousness allows Klemperer and his orchestra to handle phrases with more vivid characterization than is usually brought to bear on this score, and none of the piece's tart harmonies are glossed over here, either. This probably is not the only recording one should have of "Petruska," but it certainly sheds new light on it. Note the caveats in the editorial reviews above-- This was assembled from sessions with some imperfections, but it is still eminently worth hearing. The CD also includes Klemperer's "Pulcinella," which is played with poise and pungent wit. Anyone who thinks of Klemperer as humorless should hear the glorious slapstick fun of the "Vivo" movement (with trombone and double bass solos) from "Pulcinella." In comparison, most other versions seem uptight and uncomfortable. Bravo to Testament for a fantastic release."
An Interesting Failure
Mark Jordan | 04/22/2002
(3 out of 5 stars)
"The history of this once-rejected Petroushka recording is by now well known to Klemperer collectors, who have read Heyworth's biography of the great conductor. However, listeners curious to hear Klemperer's way with this score may conclude that EMI, with the conductor's approval, were right to consign the recording to the vaults as unworthy of release. Though Klemperer had established himself early in his career as an enthusiast of modern music - even gaining Stravinsky's approval - by the time he recorded Petroushka (1967) he was no longer capable of exerting the kind of orchestral control or rhythmic vigor that would transmit his idiosyncratic vision of the score. The opening festival music is a mess, with clunky, inconsistent phrasing combined with odd instrumental balances. (Yes, the piano part can be clearly heard for once, but does one want to hear it when the instrumentalist cannot figure out Klemperer's confused directions?) Subsequent movements in the three "Tableaux" are more successful, (meaning: more coherent) probably because they were less demanding on the aged conductor's physical dexterity, but too many times an interesting idea is undermined by poor intonation, imprecise entrances, and unsustainable tempi. Overall, Klemperer's reputation might have been better served if this recording were to have remained in the vaults - something for us Klemperer lovers to speculate over but never hear. The accompanying Pulcinella Suite is a re-issue of a performance that is both rhythmically strong and alert to the score's many beauties, especially woodwind phrasing. But its inclusion here cannot make up for the disaster that precedes it."
