Peter Beavan: “It felt as if we were taking our leave of the last of the giants… and not only in the musical sense for even after all his various physical disasters he still towered above his fellow men, a gaunt Lear.” As Mike Ashman relates in the illuminating notes he wrote for the first publication of this concert on CD by Testament (SBT2 1425, 2008): “Talk to any number of players in the Philharmonia/New Philharmonia who worked with Klemperer and you will encounter a rich vein of affection for a musician who, when they came in for their morning rehearsal, they found was ‘already there.’ Comments like ‘I worshipped him – he was a very great man’, ‘he had a great intellect, and a sense of humour, he was a great supporter of individuals’ (he had backed up a respected senior player in a dispute with the orchestra’s management), are typical.”, This then might well be a fruitful place to start when trying to pinpoint what made the relationship between this orchestra and this conductor so unique and, for Klemperer himself, so different from that with the other great European orchestras he conducted after the war: The mutual understanding and the sense of trust and affection that existed between Klemperer and the orchestra, and which over the years unfolded into a way of making music that left “performing” far behind. The world premiere of the concert version of Oedipus Rex had taken place, in the presence of Otto Klemperer, in Paris in 1927. König Stephan Ouvertüre (King Stephen Overture), op. Son of the composer Hanns Eisler, Georg Eisler was a renowned Austrian painter and graphics artist; designed the sets and costumes for Klemperer’s 1961 Magic Flute production at Covent Garden. Ed. Klemperer wurde berühmt für seine Aufführungen zeitgenössischer Werke, wie zum Beispiel Arnold Schönbergs Die glückliche Hand, Leoš Janáčeks Oper Aus einem Totenhaus, Igor Strawinskys Oedipus Rex und Paul Hindemiths Cardillac. Klemperer’s performances imparted a sense that plush sofas, thick carpets and dark, heavy furniture had not only been banished from the modern living room but from music too. In August 1937, during Stalin’s purges, her husband was arrested and executed, Saz herself imprisoned until 1942, rehabilitated in 1953. Piper, München 1981, ISBN 3-492-02430-0. After the war re-appointed as general director of the German Opera Berlin (1948–1954), then musical director of the Hamburg State Opera. • Klemperer, O. Boulez debuted in Bayreuth in 1966. This series of common denominators, this recurring thread, appeared in the Philo Bregstein documentary Otto Klemperer’s Long Journey through his Times. While editing the rehearsal excerpts of the first movement of Brahms’s Third Symphony I realised again that I was following the right approach: they showed clearly how, by rehearsing certain key passages, Klemperer succeeded unambiguously in conveying to the orchestra his own conception of the symphony, despite his highly advanced age and his increasingly frail health. Born into the conservative Catholic bourgeoisie, they had been shaped by an anti-Judaism of which Vincent d’Indy’s Cours de composition musicale makes for a lamentable example. He was 88 years old. As we shall soon see, the two men shared common characteristics. by Georges Liébert; Paris:Hachette/Pluriel,1985 (French ed. But the influence of his enemies would lead the French authorities to favour a conformist route. Durch den katholischen Geistlichen Franz Xaver Münch, mit dem er freundschaftlich verbunden war, fand er 1918 Kontakt zur Abtei Maria Laach und konvertierte 1919 vom jüdischen Glauben zum Katholizismus. Charles Osborne: Otto Klemperer - Sagen Sie doch einfach Otto. When, in the 1920’s, Ernst Bloch spoke of an energetic “precise burning” (“Nirgends brennen wir genauer”, i.e., “nowhere do we burn more precisely”), by which he meant a synthesis between intellect and passionate emotion, in the late performances from his Indian Summer we detect rather a synthesis between crystal clear structure and lyrical serenity – which however has nothing to do with “softness”. Peter Weiser (1920–2012) It has been impossible to locate the master tape, which Bregstein transferred at the time to the Klemperer Archive in the Library of Congress. Iconic theatre and opera director, between 1932 and 1936 at Cologne and Frankfurt; in 1947 created the Komische Oper in East Berlin, inviting Klemperer to conduct his epoch-making production of Bizet’s Carmen there. In 1954 Klemperer could finally again return to Europe where he regained his German citizenship and settled in Zurich. Klemperer died on 6 July 1973 and was buried four days later in the Jewish cemetery of Zurich-Friesenberg. At the Kroll Opera, characters from Richard Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman wore clothing from the 1920s. When, after several months, Klemperer had finally overcome his despondency, his mood changed into one of exaggerated self-certitude. Igor Stravinsky – Symphony in Three Movements Max Hofmüller (1881–1981) Texte aus dem Arbeitsalltag eines Musikers. Sein am Dr. Hoch’s Konservatorium in Frankfurt am Main begonnenes Studium setzte er in Berlin am Stern’schen Konservatorium bei James Kwast (Klavier) und Hans Pfitzner (Komposition und Orchesterleitung) fort. German conductor Otto Klemperer attended the Hoch Conservatorium in Frankfurt-am-Main, studied violin and piano at the Klindworth-Scharwenka and Stern Conservatories in Berlin, and composition with the German composer Pfitzner. Kurt Weill – Kleine Dreigroschenmusik, Thanks for advice to: Hans Curjel (1896–1974) He was best known for the role of Colonel Wilhelm Klink on the popular CBS television sitcom Hogan's Heroes, for which he twice won the award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series at the Primetime Emmy Awards in 1968 and 1969. Peter Heyworth li va dedicar una monumental biografia en dos volums (vol. Eigel Kruttge (1899–1979) Yet at the same time, he certainly never wanted music to be played in an “objective” manner. Jahrhunderts zählte, im US-Exil das „Los Angeles Philharmonic“ (1933–1939) leitete und zuletzt Chefdirigent auf Lebenszeit des „London Philharmonia Orchestra“ (1959–1973) war. Ludwig van Beethoven – King Stephen Overture Johannes Brahms – Symphony No. When listening to the performance on the present audio recording, one should in no way have in mind the firebrand that Klemperer was in the 1950s or even think of his years at the Berlin Kroll Opera, in Los Angeles or Budapest. This situation was linked to the fact that, following his operation in the United States in 1939, his right arm remained paralysed for a long while. Klemperer, der den musikalischen Fluss unterbrochen sah, reagierte verärgert, nachdem das Publikum immer noch nicht mit dem tosenden Applaus enden wollte, indem er sein Dirigat abbrach, sich umdrehte und ins Publikum rief: „Frechheit“ und darauf den Orchestergraben verließ. by Eigel Kruttge. He died on July 6, 1973 in Zurich, Switzerland. 2: 1933-1973. His natural, authentic interpretations helped seal his reputation as an ideal representative of the new era after the First World War. Er war von 1919 bis zu deren Tod im Jahre 1956 mit der Sängerin Johanna Geisler verheiratet. It was this combination of transparency, intensity and audibility of the individual voices that resulted in Klemperer’s finest interpretations, in particular his recordings of Beethoven and Bruckner, though also those of Mozart and Mahler. On first hearing of the introductory chorus one is struck by the basic tempo, which seems apathetically slow and lethargic. The exploitation of the Kroll Opera under the authority of Otto Klemperer had started with a memorable performance of Beethoven’s Fidelio. He was married to Johanna Klemperer. Neither should one refer to his late studio recordings, which tend to lack the vibrancy that marks the live concert recordings, something one cannot help noticing with especially the slow tempi, which the studio seemed to rob of momentum. A film maker and author of biographical portraits, in this case of the conductor Otto Klemperer, it has never been my ambition to create a biography or a music-historical documentary. That also explains why, when no recording by Klemperer exists of the composition mentioned, you may hear an excerpt from another work by the same composer from a Klemperer performance that is available. Thus on top of the hall’s weak lighting, we had to position ourselves outside the range of the orchestra, which meant using long zoom lenses for close-ups of Klemperer. Mono recording, digitally remastered. It had, in 1791, been the first country to emancipate its co-religionists. He is the inspiration for the two documentaries from the current Philo Bregstein collection. I also decided that, in order to ensure unity in the musical excerpts for the soundtrack, I would include only Klemperer recordings: Klemperer has a highly specific style of interpretation, even if not all viewers/listeners will always be able to identify whether what they’re hearing is a Klemperer performance or not. In 1933, its author had completed, during Hitler’s rise to power, a piece for mixed choir and orchestra entitled J’accuse in reference to the famous text with which Émile Zola came to the defence of Captain Alfred Dreyfus. Zoltán Simon (1920–1991) But the opportunity proved so unique that I decided to use this fascinating musical film footage for a separate documentary dedicated entirely to these rehearsal sessions and the concert itself, forming a diptych, you could say, with the filmed portrait. by Stephan Stompor; East Berlin: Henschel Verlag, and Wilhelmshaven: Heinrichshofen, 1982 (enlarged ed. Housed in a box the size of a brick comes an audio-visual collection devoted to Otto Klemperer. He then joined Klemperer at the Kroll Opera in Berlin as main dramaturg and deputy director (1927–1931), decisively helping determine its avant-garde direction; after the Kroll’s closure guest director at the State Opera. Heyworth, Peter (ed. That there was no thought in Klemperer’s own mind about any “farewell” from the concert platform may be clear from two of the works he planned to include in the 1971–1972 season, Mendelssohn’s Die erste Walpurgisnacht and his first-ever Mahler’s Eighth Symphony: “Unsinn, Wahnsinn!” Lotte had interjected (“Nonsense, madness”). On the contrary: the musical structure reveals itself with ever greater clarity. A music enthusiast, Lord Harewood devoted most of his career to opera and held various posts at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden (1951–1972), where he invited Klemperer to conduct (and direct) Fidelio (1961 and 1969), Zauberflöte (1962, 1963) and Lohengrin (1963). He also venerated them as a composer. I want to pay homage to him by quoting what he told me when we had finished working together on the editing of the score images in August of last year in Amsterdam: “Klemperer The Last Concert is his Musical Testament.”, KLEMPERER THE LAST CONCERT: THE COMPLETE RECORDING by Dick Bruggeman & Werner Unger. Als er 1905 bei Gustav Mahlers 2. Every performance was captured live for broadcast by the BBC, and has been reconstructed for Blu-ray disc in this special box set release, produced in partnership with the Otto Klemperer Film Foundation. However, Friday came and as Clem was leaving the Hall Dr. Klemperer called out: “Mr. The hip fracture in 1951 and the insertion of a permanent metal pin meant that he would now conduct mainly sitting down. In seiner weiteren Laufbahn kam er 1910 bis 1912 an das Stadt-Theater Hamburg und 1912 bis 1913 das Stadttheater Barmen. It also made the bipolar disorder (then called manic depression) from which he had suffered since childhood flare up. He also had to collect these parts again at the end of the concert and deliver them back to Klemperer at his Hyde Park hotel suite. Then, in his later recordings, starting around 1967, everything becomes quieter. (Manuscript/Mixed Material) Retrieved from the Library of Congress, ZBW – Leibniz-Informationszentrum Wirtschaft, Artikel zum 125. Shavings from a Musician’s Workbench. Studied with Arnold Schoenberg; from 1913 chorus master and conductor at various German opera houses, until 1927 when Klemperer engaged him at the Kroll Opera; fled to France in 1933, from there to the USA in 1939, enjoying a successful conducting career there. In his introducture notes to the Last Concert Philo Bregstein vividly describes how far from optimal the conditions were for his film team had to work with. KLEMPERER THE LAST CONCERT: THE BACKGROUND STORY by Philo Bregstein. Thus, Otto Klemperer’s Long Journey through his Times offers the viewer much more than a chronological summary of events in Klemperer’s life or a statement about his legacy as a musician. Pierre Boulez (1925–2016) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Così fan Tutte, Don Giovanni, Masonic Funeral Music Tamás Blum (1927–1992) Actor Werner Klemperer seemed destined for a career as a classical musician in his native Germany; his father was legendary orchestra conductor Otto Klemperer, and his mother was an opera singer. DAVID WHELTON – Managing Director of the Philharmonia Orchestra, London, Interview by Philo Bregstein with: 3 was filmed and edited with the help of OTTO FREUDENTHAL, personal and musical assistant to Otto Klemperer from 1961 until 1971 Excerpts taken from the film OTTO KLEMPERER IN REHEARSAL AND CONCERT 1971 were edited in 1974 by MICHÈLE MULLER, together with PHILO BREGSTEIN and OTTO FREUDENTHAL. Few re-issues on DVD in recent years have given such cause for outright celebration as these two legendary films about Otto Klemperer (1885-1973) by Dutch filmmaker and author Philo Bregstein! The thematic of Otto Klemperer’s Long Journey through his Times extends beyond the portrait of a great conductor. Der Schriftsteller und Philologe Victor Klemperer schreibt in LTI – Notizbuch eines Philologen (Kapitel XII, „Interpunktion“), dass mit „Klemperer“ ursprünglich der „Klopfer“ in der ostjüdischen Gemeinde bezeichnet worden sei, der Gemeindediener, der morgens an die Türen der Frommen klopft, um sie an ihr Frühgebet zu erinnern. Finally, nowhere in his film does Bregstein himself offer critical or explanatory comments on the historical events he portrays, thus allowing us viewers to form our own opinion and draw our own conclusions. 1: 1885-1933. So, when before the concert I was summoned to his room, I was full of nervous fear that I had not pleased him. Films explaining the fate of the German-Jewish conductor Otto Klemperer (1885-1973), one of the greatest conductors of all time. In Fällen wie diesen kommt es auf die Zahlen nur deshalb an, weil die Mitwelt einen Anlaß findet, ihre Dankbarkeit auszusprechen. Klemperer, Otto, Écrits et entretiens. Diese Seite wurde zuletzt am 13. Relf, you need not come tomorrow afternoon; I have marked the parts myself.” “Oh, thank you, Dr. Klemperer.” But as he reached the exit, a stentorian shout followed him: “And I hope they lose!” When asked by John Freeman in his 1960 BBC interview whether he enjoyed conducting in London with the Philharmonia, Klemperer, then 75 years old, immediately responded: “Oh yes, very much! Otto Klemperer’s Long Journey through his Times is a biographical film about one of the most influential conductors of the 20th century, set against the background of the historical, cultural and political era of his lifetime. In 1983 she published Die Personalakten der Johanna Geisler (‘The Personal Documents of Johanna Geisler’), a moving portrait she unearthed from the archives of her mother’s early life and stage career. The Foundation intends to bring films from film maker Philo Bregstein about Otto Klemperer to the attention of many. Whereas with other great contemporaries the musical flow often tended to peter out at very slow tempi, Klemperer created a monumental, tragic lament of unrelenting intensity. Dr. Philippe Olivier-Achard As in all of my films, I set out by first making strict formal choices. Otto Klemperer by AllMusic; Beating Time: a play by Jim Grover about Klemperer; The Stanford Collection. Von 1924 bis 1927 wirkte Klemperer als Generalmusikdirektor in Wiesbaden, seine schönste Zeit, wie er später bekundete. Rehearsal, Vienna 1960: Principal cellist of the Philharmonia Orchestra from its inception; largely self-taught, Clark had risen from plain roots to the top of his profession and was a firm favourite of Klemperer’s. And the musicologist Antony Beaumont, who recently produced a scholarly edition of a large selection of Klemperer’s letters in German, recounts how, as a young “telephone violinist”, he found himself playing under Klemperer for the only time in his life when he was asked to jump in for an indisposed member of the orchestra for both the dress rehearsal and what became Klemperer’s “Last Concert”. Otto Klemperer was born in Breslau, Silesia Province, then in Germany (now Wroc?aw, Poland), as a son of Nathan Klemperer, a … Otto Klemperer Filmfoundation is on Facebook. The music no longer sounds “slow”, but obtains greater transparency and becomes – one hesitates to say it – more “affectionate”, while underpinned as always by Klemperer’s scrupulously enforced discipline and his fixation with the smallest musical detail. Noch im gleichen Jahr emigrierte er in die USA, wo er Dirigent beim Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra wurde. As I talked to close friends and consulted colleagues, it became clear that with the original film material I actually had in my possession a musical document of unique historical value: How to bring out its significance for today’s viewers? Jahrhunderts zählte, im US-Exil das „Los Angeles Philharmonic“ (1933–1939) leitete und zuletzt Chefdirigent auf Lebenszeit des „London Philharmonia Orchestra“ (1959–1973) war. Dress rehearsal Royal Festival Hall, 25 September 1971: Ludwig van Beethoven – King Stephen Overture & Piano Concerto No. He sought – like Boulez – to exhibit sonic constructs. The first is Henry-Louis de la Grange, a major biographer of the author of Das Lied von der Erde, who spent the Second World War in the United States and often visited Alma Mahler there. Danach leitete er bis 1931 die Krolloper in Berlin. of Über Musik undTheater). Editing: SILVANO AGOSTI, JAN DOP Directing Assistance: JAN DOP Collaboration: OTTO FREUDENTHAL, MARLINE FRITZIUS, PETER HEYWORTH Research: THOMAS A. P. VAN LEEUWEN Camera: KEES COLSON, ANTON HAAKMAN, JAN OONK Sound: ED PELSTER, TOM THOLEN, THE NEW PHILHARMONIA ORCHESTRA Through a rigorous scheme of self-discipline and physical training, he partly managed to overcome these challenges, but he remained practically without work for years. 90 The latter was the soloist for one of his piano concertos, conducted by Klemperer himself. Similarly, still photos collected from all around the globe eloquently illustrate Klemperer’s life and career, throwing an especially fascinating light on his work at the Kroll Opera. In 1939, brain surgery to remove a (benign) tumour left him partly paralysed on the right side of his face and body. But I always knew: “etwas fehlt”, something remained unaccomplished, because the errors of the first editing could not be repaired completely. Principal violist of the Philharmonia from 1945 till 1974; also prolific chamber music player. Rehearsals, London, 1971: of Meine Erinnerungen…). As such, Bart, Berg, who was little appreciated by Klemperer, Schoenberg, Janácˇek and Stravinsky would represent the stumbling blocks of Boulez’s future repertoire. Heyworth, Peter, Otto Klemperer. by Martin Anderson; London: Toccata Press, 1986 (enlarged ed. by Monika Plessner. Frankfurt am Main:Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, 1983. 1912 bis 1913 hatte Klemperer eine Liaison mit der Sopranistin Elisabeth Schumann, welche zu der Zeit mit dem Architekten Walther Puritz verheiratet war.[7]. A unique film! Typical also is a passage Klemperer wanted to be played with ‘half the strings’, which is not written in the score, but which allowed him to obtain a truly pianissimo violin sound. For me this applied also to the filming of musical performances. Almost a century-and-a-half later, two French nationals would also give Klemperer, the emeritus interpreter of Gustav Mahler, the honour he is due. A man of the Left, the authoritarian Otto had been influenced, just like his cousin, linguist and novelist Victor Klemperer – author of a thesis devoted to Montesquieu – by the fraternal values of the 1789 Revolution. OTTO KLEMPERER’S LONG JOURNEY THROUGH HIS TIMES: A NOTE ON THE 2016 VERSION by Philo Bregstein. Written in 1960, Klemperer’s Symphony No.1 contains variations on the theme of La Marseillaise. Natalia Saz (1903–1993) German-Swiss author, Wagner’s ‘first grandchild’ but banned from Bayreuth by Cosima Wagner; during the Weimar Republic worked with Leo Kestenberg at the Prussian Ministry of Science, Culture and Education; between 1943 and 1972 general secretary of the Swiss Society of Authors; main work: Cosima Wagner-Liszt, Der Weg zum Wagner-Mythos. It is an ironic twist of fate that while Klemperer’s St. Matthew Passion was considered a highly modern interpretation of Bach during the Weimar Republic, it sounds somewhat dated nowadays. He gave his last concert in September 1971. Otto Klemperer’s Long Journey through His Times/Klemperer: The Last Concert Two films by Philo Bregstein Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) King Stephen Overture, Op.117 Piano Concerto No.4 in G major, Op.58 Johannes BRAHMS (1833-1897) Symphony No.3 in F major, Op.90 Daniel Adni (piano) New Philharmonia Orchestra/Otto Klemperer A unique film! He conducted four times in Israel and in 1970, following a performance of Mahler’s Ninth Symphony, accepted an Israeli passport as a token of his support of the young state. Throughout Long Journey we hear Klemperer’s own voice delivering much of the narrative, joined at several junctions by that of his daughter Lotte. Klemperer was born in Cologne, Germany, to a musical family. These and many others Bregstein interviewed especially for his film. His music reflected his bipolar personality: in Budapest (1948) he forced an impossibly fast tempo on his Don Giovanni for his champagne aria, in Sydney (1950) he conducted the fastest, in London (1971) the slowest Mahler Second Symphony of all time. This new element is especially traceable in live recordings. The fact remains that the Philharmonia quickly took to Klemperer’s style of working and grew to love him for it. Fortunately, as it turned out we could use most of the material we had filmed this way. The film is enriched by much, often rare, archive material from the 1930’s through 50’s, among them tantalizing bits of Walter Felsenstein’s 1949 production of Bizet’s Carmen at the Komische Oper in Berlin which Klemperer conducted. Singer and opera director, member of the Strasbourg Opera under Klemperer (1914–1917), from 1918 senior director in Munich; staged Klemperer’s Ring cycle at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires (1931); concentrated after the war on teaching. Klemperer and the New/Philharmonia:“This orchestra is all my joy.” “Ladies and gentlemen, at Dr. Klemperer’s request the New Philharmonia Orchestra will be wearing informal dress for all the concerts which he will be conducting this season.” That was the announcement read out to the audience in the Royal Festival Hall on 26 September 1971 as they were waiting for the concert to start. In this piece he managed to not only create a catchy theme, but to also provide this theme with a distinct counterpart, forming an inseparable unity. George Harewood (1923–2011) It might get worse.” To which the singer replied: “Ah, but it might get better.” Only to be crushed by: “We can’t wait that long!” Clem Relf formed no exception. Anecdotes, Sayings and Impression of Otto Klemperer; London: Robson Books, 1980. Joseph Haydn – Symphony No. Berlin: Siedler Verlag, 1988. THANKS FOR THEIR AMICABLE HELP TO ALL PHOTOGRAPHERS AND ARCHIVES. This also applied to his use of tempi at the time, which were described by critics as taut, diabolical and brisk. Charles Osborne: Otto Klemperer – Sagen Sie doch einfach Otto. What’s more, the grainy, almost Rembrandt-like texture it has acquired over the years now creates a welcome atmospheric contrast with the super-sharp and somewhat cool digital images we have become used to today. No wonder, with a conductor who is here 86 years old and so obviously hampered by the many medical handicaps inflicted upon him through the years that, when seeing him for the very first time on fi lm, one inevitably needs a few moments to adjust. Ludwig van Beethoven – Symphony No. ‘Otto Klemperer’s Long Journey Through his Times’ is a restored and re-edited version of a film that was originally released two decades ago and has long since been commercially unavailable. Beautifully documented with many details and archive material. He then told EMI he wanted to record the Verdi Requiem, Sibelius’s Fourth and Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld (the work he had launched his career with in 1906). Domiciled in Baden-Baden, where he has been buried since January 2016, Boulez was well informed on the political situation in Germany and of its division into fratricidal nations. Klemperer, Lotte (ed. In der Budapester Oper gelangen ihm denkwürdige Opernaufführungen, es kam aber auch zu einem der für Klemperer typischen Skandale: Am Ende der Gralserzählung in einer Aufführung des Lohengrin am 24. After a lapse of forty years, I renewed contact with Otto Freudenthal, who in the meantime had built up a reputation for himself as a composer and could look back on an international career as concert pianist. Aufgrund seiner aufsehenerregenden Aufführungen in der Zeitspanne zwischen 1918 und 1933 erwarb sich Klemperer einen Ruf als einer der ganz großen Dirigenten des Deutschen Reichs. német karmester és zeneszerző.A 20. század egyik legnagyobb karmesterének tartják. This was also the case when he conducted Symphonie fantastique by Hector Berlioz, the spiritual successor of the French Revolution and disciple of a then ground-breaking language whose visionary merit was studied by Pierre Boulez. As director of the Moscow Theatre for Children commissioned Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf; in 1931 Klemperer invited her to stage Falstaff at the Kroll Opera and Nozze di Figaro later that year at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires.