Steve Schwartz wrote:

>I never cared for Klemperer's Mahler or, for that matter, his performances
>of 19th century music in general.  I always thought of him at his
>noticeably better best in modern stuff.
>
>I never had the chance to hear him live . . . all I know of his
>music-making is from record.

While I agree with Steve to some extent about Klemperer's 19th century
music, especially his tempos in his Beethoven, I wonder if there is a
significant body of Klemperer's recorded music of "modern stuff" for Steve
to make such a judgment.  Oh, yes, there is a Gershwin here, a Weill there,
and there is a recording of a Bartok and a Janacek.  Or perhaps Steve means
Klemperer's recordings of his own compositions.  In any case, for a music
critic who has been dismissive out of hand of Dinu Lipatti and now Otto
Klemperer, I have to raise the question.

John Dalmas
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