Mimi Ezust <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>It isn't just the tempo of a piece of music that matters, but what the
>conductor does with it.

Surely one hardly needs to point out that Mimi is absolutely right in
the reasoning she puts forward here but I reply simply to venture the
suggestion that for Klemperer the recording that proves the rule in his
case is his Pastoral - a magnificent performance but which is puzzling to
some at first hearing.  And the essence of Goodall's Wagner conducting
surely turned around this very point.

When questioned about his tempi in this recording Klemperer replied curtly
"You'll get used to it."  We did.  It has never been out of the catalogue
and with Karajan's Philharmonia version (EMI mono, mid-fifties) and the
recent Rattle concert with the VPO it remains amongst the best performances
of the work that I know.

I too attended numerous Klemperer symphonic cycles with the Philharmonia
in the period 1958/64 and they were thrilling experiences indeed (although
I seldom saw him with a baton).

John G. Deacon
Home page: http://www.ctv.es/USERS/j.deacon
Campobello: http://www.holiday-rentals.co.uk/campobello