Klemperer’s Bruckner 4 is one of the great ones, and a surprisingly swift reading too. We know that during his EMI phase he tended to take slow movements quickly and quick movements slowly, but here everything is quicker than today’s norm by a couple of minutes. The lone exception is the scherzo, which sounds wonderful at this measured pace, the fabulous horns of the Philharmonia blasting away with rustic abandon. You won’t find a more cogently put together finale, or a nobler Andante (truly “quasi Allegretto” as marked). It’s a glorious interpretation, made even more appealing with the coupling of an equally fine Siegfried Idyll, Klemperer’s use of the original chamber scoring offering ideal intimacy without the need to resort to excruciatingly slow tempos or sentimental posturing. Best of all, the remastered sonics are astounding fine, as good as anything on offer today and better than most. I can’t recommend this highly enough. [6/22/2004]
