Columbia SAX 2570: Klemperer's Beethoven Overtures

Columbia SAX 2570
Beethoven Overtures
Philharmonia Orchestra
Otto Klemperer, conductor

Pressing: UK, ER1, semi-circle 1st

Date first published: 1965 (but recordings from 1958-1960)

Stampers: YAX 1192-2, YAX 1193-3

Performance: 9/10

Sound: 7/10

Price range: $25-439 (mean $52, outlier was a $439 single-side test pressing) on popsike.com 

Comments: In addition to his reference Beethoven symphony cycle, Otto Klemperer also recorded two stereo LPs of Beethoven overtures on the Columbia SAX label.  SAX 2542 included the Leonore Overtures 1-3 and the Overture to Fidelio, while this album contained the Coriolan, Creatures of Prometheus, Egmont, King Stephen, and Consecration of the House.  The quality of these recordings is right on par with the symphonies, and the performances are powerful.  How does the sound hold up?  Pretty well, for the most part.  There is some mild surface noise to the LP, even on an LP in excellent condition with no visible marks, but this hardly gets in the way of the listening experience.  The presentation on my system is more distant, but the soundstage is reasonable wide and deep, and the overall sound is still quite rich and dynamic.  Bass extension is decent but could've used a little more impact.  I picked up some graininess to the strings and brass as well as a decrease in overall clarity in louder passages.  This was most notable for me in the final portion of the Egmont Overture.  However, if you've been following this blog, you know that this is no surprise for many of these golden age EMI recordings.  

Last year, I purchased the EMI/Warner Klemperer Beethoven box set and was very happy with this comprehensive compilation, since it included all of the symphonies (some with more than one recording) and overtures on 10 CDs.  The sound quality of the transfers is fabulous, and there is far more clarity to these than the originals. 

Of note, like the symphonies, many of the overtures conducted by Klemperer were reissued by EMI as part of its ASD series.  My experience is that these later pressings sounded quite a bit better than the original SAX releases, eliminating distortion and significantly improving clarity.  I'm pretty certain that my colleague Miles can testify to this, as he has also done A/B testing here.



Audio setup: VPI Aries 1 turntable, JMW Memorial tonearm, Lyra Delos cartridge, Parasound JC3 phono stage, Musical Fidelity M6i integrated amplifier, Von Schweikert VR2 floorstanding speakers