Columbia SAX 2437: Klemperer's Almighty Strauss
Strauss: Death and Transfiguration, Metamorphosen
Otto Klemperer, conductor
Philharmonia Orchestra
Pressing: UK, ER2, semi-circle
Condition: EX
Date first published: 1962
Stampers:
YAX 855-4
YAX 856-3
Performance: 10/10
Sound: 7/10
Price range: $26-211 (mean $96) on popsike.com
Comments: Klemperer's recordings of the works of Richard Strauss are among some of the finest, and this is one of them. I particularly like the performance of Death and Transfiguration, which happens to be my favorite Strauss tone poem. On this subject is written in the liner notes:
"It is about a man who lies dying in his room. The atmosphere of death hangs heavy over the sickbed. A gently woodwind tune suggests that he is dreaming of far-off happy days. A spell of agony racks his body but his spirit is victorious over death as over the world, because he is a man, an has an immortal soul. He dreams again of his childhood and youth. The music becomes more impassioned, and then we are back in the sickroom again. He grows weaker, his pulse beats more and more slowly; at last he sinks back and yields do death. But out of darkness comes the real victory, release from the world, transfiguration. The solemn theme of transfiguring triumph, which is the spirit's victory over death, wells up gradually to a superb climax from which it relaxes into eternal serenity."
Profound, yes, especially considering that Strauss composed this tone poem this when he was 25. The music is very dramatic and moving, and I find the theme of triumph, especially in the work's climax, particularly uplifting. The Philharmonia plays beautifully throughout. Sadly, I can't say that I view the Metamorphosen with the same enthusiasm, but that's an issue with the composition and not this recording. The recorded sound is full and vivid, perhaps a little bright in the upper midrange and treble on my system, with an expansive soundstage.
Altogether, a very fine LP with a beautiful artistic cover to boast.
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