Klemperer - why are so few of his EMI recordings available ?

[Barbirollians]

No doubt they are available for download but so many seem to have been deleted . I should love to get hold of his Schubert 5 & 8 my old EMI Eminence LP has given up the ghost .

I note even legendary records like the Bruckner 6 have disappeared ! Bring back Otto I say.

[cloughie]

No doubt they are available for download but so many seem to have been deleted . I should love to get hold of his Schubert 5 & 8 my old EMI Eminence LP has given up the ghost .

I note even legendary records like the Bruckner 6 have disappeared ! Bring back Otto I say.

I have had the same thoughts - I would like his Bruckner 7!

[Bryn]

A 6 CD boxed set of his Bruckner Symphonies (4 - 9) is due for release at the end of October. You can 'pre-order' it form amazon.co.uk for £22.50 (including p&p).

A 10 CD set of his Beethoven Symphonies and Overtures is scheduled for release at the some time, as is another 10 CD set of "Romantic Symphonies and Overtures".

All EMI, by the way.

[Barbirollians]

I have had the same thoughts - I would like his Bruckner 7!

That is a great record . The first recording I had of the piece .

Even his Brahms symphonies , his stereo Beethoven cycle and his magnificent Magic Flute appear to have gone .

[jayne lee wilson]

GREAT ARMFULS available at HMV Japan, only trouble there would be what to leave out...

All the Toshiba-EMI issues with prefix 13- or 14- that I bought, sound very good (warts and all...), those labelled "Hi-Quality CD" may well be similarly remastered. Lots of SACDs if that's your thing, can't speak for the CD layers on those, but Japanese EMI issues almost always sound better than GROCS etc.

[cloughie]

A 6 CD boxed set of his Bruckner Symphonies (4 - 9) is due for release at the end of October. You can 'pre-order' it form amazon.co.uk for £22.50 (including p&p).

A 10 CD set of his Beethoven Symphonies and Overtures is scheduled for release at the some time, as is another 10 CD set of "Romantic Symphonies and Overtures".

All EMI, by the way.

Thanks Bryn, the Bruckner box looks semi-attractive I have 4/6/9.

[Bryn]

Thanks Bryn, the Bruckner box looks semi-attractive I have 4/6/9.

Of his Bruckner I have but the GROC 6th. I presume the Beethoven set will have the mono and stereo recordings. I have the stereo and some of the mono already, so am not much tempted by that 10 CD set. I can find no detailed listing for the "Romantic Symphonies and Overtures" as yet.

[cloughie]

Of his Bruckner I have but the GROC 6th. I presume the Beethoven set will have the mono and stereo recordings. I have the stereo and some of the mono already, so am not much tempted by that 10 CD set. I can find no detailed listing for the "Romantic Symphonies and Overtures" as yet.

I suspect I'll have all but the Hebrides Ov!

[Dave2002]

No doubt they are available for download but so many seem to have been deleted . I should love to get hold of his Schubert 5 & 8 my old EMI Eminence LP has given up the ghost .

I note even legendary records like the Bruckner 6 have disappeared ! Bring back Otto I say.

His EMI Schubert 9 is lovely, IMO. I have quite a number of his recordings, both on LP and CD, but I agree that they should continue to be made available. His Brahms Violin Concerto with David Oistrakh is one of my all time favourites, and his Brahms symphonies are very good too - the opening of number 1 is imposing, and similar to Jochum, IIRC.

There are some out of the way versions on streaming sites such as Napster and Spotify.

[Acavus]

GREAT ARMFULS available at HMV Japan, only trouble there would be what to leave out...

All the Toshiba-EMI issues with prefix 13- or 14- that I bought, sound very good (warts and all...), those labelled "Hi-Quality CD" may well be similarly remastered. Lots of SACDs if that's your thing, can't speak for the CD layers on those, but Japanese EMI issues almost always sound better than GROCS etc.

Jayne is absolutely right that many of the Klemperer Toshiba-EMI reissues sound infinitely better than their European counterparts - but not all. Those that have been remastered (by Yoshio Okazaki), the Beethoven and Brahms symphony cycles for example, sound terrific, and in their HQ CD form sound even subtly better. So when the Klemperer Bruckner symphonies (4-9) and some Mahler were advertised in HQ form I bought several in the hope that they too had been remastered. Huge disappointment as they showed little if any improvement over the European CDs and I guess had not been remastered.

So beware! My advice is to wait for the cheap Bruckner box mentioned by Bryn, and in the case of the Beethoven go either for the Toshiba-EMI, or better still, wait for the SACDs scheduled for November if you have unlimited funds!

And don't forget the two Klemperer EMI Signature Collection sets: Mendelssohn symphonies 3 & 4 plus Schumann 4, and the last six Mozart symphonies - they come up fresh as paint, especially in their SACD guise. His Mozart is totally convincing and of course he was originally employed by Walter Legge as a Mozart conductor. I still find his recordings of the da Ponte operas as enjoyable as any.

[neiltingley]

Jayne is absolutely right that many of the Klemperer Toshiba-EMI reissues sound infinitely better than their European counterparts - but not all. Those that have been remastered (by Yoshio Okazaki), the Beethoven and Brahms symphony cycles for example, sound terrific, and in their HQ CD form sound even subtly better. So when the Klemperer Bruckner symphonies (4-9) and some Mahler were advertised in HQ form I bought several in the hope that they too had been remastered. Huge disappointment as they showed little if any improvement over the European CDs and I guess had not been remastered.

So beware! My advice is to wait for the cheap Bruckner box mentioned by Bryn, and in the case of the Beethoven go either for the Toshiba-EMI, or better still, wait for the SACDs scheduled for November if you have unlimited funds!

hdtracks.com have some 24/96 2011 remasterings of Klemperer recordings inc. German Requiem.

Most Klemperer recordings are available on qobuz.com. For non-luddites, you can download or stream at CD quality. Forget spotify!

[PJPJ]

Jayne is absolutely right that many of the Klemperer Toshiba-EMI reissues sound infinitely better than their European counterparts - but not all. Those that have been remastered (by Yoshio Okazaki), the Beethoven and Brahms symphony cycles for example, sound terrific, and in their HQ CD form sound even subtly better. So when the Klemperer Bruckner symphonies (4-9) and some Mahler were advertised in HQ form I bought several in the hope that they too had been remastered. Huge disappointment as they showed little if any improvement over the European CDs and I guess had not been remastered.

So beware! My advice is to wait for the cheap Bruckner box mentioned by Bryn, and in the case of the Beethoven go either for the Toshiba-EMI, or better still, wait for the SACDs scheduled for November if you have unlimited funds!

I am hoping for more in the Signature series of SACDs - I thought the sound on the various Mozart, Mendelssohn and Schumann symphonies was excellent. To come, perhaps, the Beethoven Mass and the Brahms Requiem.

I have only a few Yoshio Okazaki mastered CDs (a couple each of Klemperer, Richter and Barbirolli), and I agree - the improvement in the sound quality is extraordinary. The forthcoming Japanese SACDs of the Beethoven symphonies will I feel sure have been mastered in the UK like all the others.

[Dave2002]

hdtracks.com have some 24/96 2011 remasterings of Klemperer recordings inc. German Requiem.

Most Klemperer recordings are available on qobuz.com. For non-luddites, you can download or stream at CD quality. Forget spotify!

I thought qobuz only serves to users in France.

Re SACDs I'm getting the feeling that not all the SACDs are equivalent in quality. Some are Japanese in origin, reportedly good, while others are not - merely OK. This is somewhat confusing. Are the Signature series equivalent to or the same as the Japanese ones, or completely different? I think they're probably different. Not wishing to doubt the desire of Europeans to work on the recordings, but would it not make sense if EMI could sell the Japanese remastered versions in Europe?

[mathias broucek]

Three big "Klemperer Legacy boxes" here.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Dclassical&field-keywords=klemperer+legacy&rh=n%3A229816%2Cn%3A!520920%2Cn%3A697386%2Ck%3Aklemperer+legacy

It seems to be EMI's way these days to shove all reissues into huge, comprehensive boxes Although this inevitably leads to duplication (e.g. getting the Jochum Dresden Bruckner when one only wanted the Beethoven) the prices are very low.

I'm very impressed with my download of his Bavarian RSO Mahler 2. I'd love to get the CD (and some of his other recordings with the orchestra) but they all seem v expensive. Perhaps his Bavarian Beethoven will be in one of the "Legacy" boxes?

[Acavus]

I thought qobuz only serves to users in France.

Re SACDs I'm getting the feeling that not all the SACDs are equivalent in quality. Some are Japanese in origin, reportedly good, while others are not - merely OK. This is somewhat confusing. Are the Signature series equivalent to or the same as the Japanese ones, or completely different? I think they're probably different. Not wishing to doubt the desire of Europeans to work on the recordings, but would it not make sense if EMI could sell the Japanese remastered versions in Europe?

As far as I know all the current and future EMI SACDs, whether released in Japan or worldwide in the Signature Collection, will have been remastered by the team at Abbey Road. One important point - whereas all the current EMI SACDs are hybrids, and can be played on a CD player, all future Japanese releases will be single-layer SACDs, and therefore will only play on an SACD player. Sadly, I can't see myself buying the Klemperer Beethoven SACDs; they are very expensive and offer short measure, typically containing one symphony and an overture - so the cycle comes on, I think, eight discs