KLEMPERER conducts Mozart, Vol. 3 (1954-62) - PASC608

“As I put this on the turntable I thought to myself that a string orchestra would probably gain very little from stereophonic treatment. Before I had been listening for a few moments, however, I was amused to be reminded that Klemperer is one of the few conductors left who still deploy the second violins on their right. (The only others, as far as I know, are Bruno Walter and Sir Adrian Boult).

It might have been a good idea to have mentioned this on the sleeve, for the practice of lumping all the violins together on the conductor's left has now become so general that many listeners may easily wonder why on earth the second violin sound is coming so clearly from the right-hand speaker, and even think the balance is wrong.

The record shows clearly the great advantage of Klemperer's lay-out, for, as Sir Adrian has so often pointed out, classical music is full of passages where a phrase on the firsts is answered by one on the seconds and this antiphonal effect, intended by the composers, is lost in the lay-out prevalent nowadays. It is odd to have this proved by a gramophone record.

There is no doubt that the delight of listening to the Philharmonia strings under Klemperer (and delight is the only adequate word for it) is enormously enhanced in the Handel by the vigorous fugal entries coming from the firsts over there and then the seconds over there. Yet there is no lack of middle in the placing of this admirable sound, for the viola leads come in somewhere between the two speakers and the bass binds the whole texture together extremely well. Fugal writing would seem to be a "natural" for stereo.

The performances themselves will need no further praise from me - at least, not by those who have heard the monaural record. Anyone who still thinks that Klemperer cannot bring off light Mozart with a smile and grace should listen to this performance of the Nachtmusik. But, indeed, the whole thing is, a pleasure to own and it is a great success in its new form. ”

T.H., The Gramophone, November 1957
Review of Mozart Eine Kleine Nachtmusik - first stereo release c/w Handel

Otto Klemperer's stereo Mozart recordings with the Philiharmonia Orchestra, as represented in this series of three volumes, dates from between 1954 and 1962. During these years there were multiple advances in sound recording technology, leaving us with a collection of recordings which suffer quite a diversity in sound quality.

My principle aims in the remastering of these recordings are not only to raise the quality of all of them, but to achieve a better balance of sound between them, such that the listener no longer experiences a great lurch in audio quality when moving from one of the earliest to one of the latest of the set. While the improvements may be more marginal towards the end of the series, the earlier recordings have been greatly enhanced by these new XR remasters.

Andrew Rose