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In Reply to: Klemperer in Pittsburgh posted by tlyyra on May 18, 2007 at 12:46:39
I have a two volume biography of Klemperer and will look it up when I get home tonight.
Great; TIA. Not that it's such a big deal, but it's a pretty big claim by Klemp... who usually wasn't much into self-aggrandizing. And that biography (I take it's the one by Peter Heyworth) should have the best answer in all things klempererian.
TL
You are correct, it is the Peter Heyworth biography. I have mainly browsed rather than read it, although there is much of interest, and it seems well written.
With regard to Pittsbirgh, there is not a ton of material - apparently, the Pittsurgh orchestra was moribund from 1927, and Klemperer participated in reconstituting the orchestra, including hiring members of the orchestra. He conducted an inaugural concert, and was offered the post of music director at a handsome salary. He declined it, eventually, and the orhestra hired Reiner instead.
Taken together, I would say the claim is very reasonable, even though there were likely community members who were the main drivers. It is certainly a fair guess that it would not have had the quality that it had, and (perhaps) without his recruiting efforts, they would not have been able to hire as fine a conductor as Reiner.
Curiously, Klemperer seems to have been pretty popular with orchestras even though he was not an easy man to deal with (he battled depression for much of his life, not to mention many of the other tribulations he faced, such as being a refuge, and be classed as a communist)
Thanks a lot. Interesting to hear all that, and your conclusion sounds right. And yes, he was a man of many afflictions; if there was a competition among musicians about who'd gone through the most, Klemperer would be close to the top.
I haven't advanced to his Kroll Opera period yet, but nonetheless I doubt he'd been a better long-term prospect as an orchestral developer than Reiner. Good, then, if the pieces fell together quite nicely this way.
TL
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