There’s no question of the greatness of Otto Klemperer’s Beethoven Fifth, and for many music listeners this mono recording remains his preferred version. Personally, I find the later stereo edition preferable even if it is slightly slower, as there’s no lack of tension and the recording offers superior definition in the brass, winds, and timpani. Still, this is a magnificent vision of the work either way: trenchant, majestic, and shaped with that special brand of raw integrity that makes Klemperer one of the undisputed masters of the core German repertoire. And if you find the later Fifth too slow, this one’s the way to go.
That said, Klemperer never really got a handle on the Seventh, and none of his versions really stand among the best. He’s fine here in the first two movements, but the last two simply lack the necessary lightness and rhythmic dynamism. This, his first of three recordings of the work for EMI, is the best, and appears here in its recently discovered primitive stereo incarnation. Ironically, the mono Klemperer Edition reissue sounds better in every respect, offering greater clarity, superior instrumental balances, and a wider dynamic range. EMI’s decision to release this sonically inferior edition (doesn’t anyone actually listen to these things?) necessarily limits the value of what otherwise would be an essential purchase (or repurchase) for Klemperer’s admirers.
