Deryk Barker, responding to Norman M. Schwartz:

>>The speed is a consequence of the producer's aberrant concept regarding
>>recording technology.  John Pfeiffer instructed Heifetz that performing at
>>usual concert hall speed would put home audiences "to sleep" because of the
>>lack of usual visual concert hall cues, etc.
>
>Exactly.  Far better Klemperer's riposte to Walter Legge: you'll get used
>to it (i.e the slow tempo).

When Mahler was conducting and the attention of the audience wasn't what he
thought it should be, he didn't pick up the tempo but slowed it down.

Jim Tobin