Bruckner Symphony No.7, Wagner : Klemperer / Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Torino RAI Orchestra

OTTO KLEMPERER
Bruckner: Symphony No. 7 in E major*
Wagner: Die Meistersinger - Act I Prelude**

Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks*
Orchestra Sinfonica di Torino della RAI**
Otto Klemperer, conductor

Recording:
Herkulassaal, Munich, 12 April 1956*
Auditorium di Torino della RAI, Turin, 17 December 1956**
MONO

Otto Klemperer (1885-1973) was one of the most celebrated Bruckner conductors of the 20th Century and recorded in the studio all the symphonies except for Nos 1-3.

The Bavarian Radio live concert performance from the Herkulessaal in Munich in 1956 has not been available before and was recorded 4 years before Klemperer made a commercial studio version in 1960. It came at a time of the conductor's 'rebirth' as a major force in classical music which Medici has been documenting with some of the great performances he gave in Cologne. This is an important and rare release for any collector.

Equally the rare broadcast of a concert featuring Wagner's Prelude to Act 1 of Die Meistersinger given in Turin by the RAI in 1956 is of major importance to collectors. This has only appeared on LP and represents Klemperer's occasional appearances in Italy.

Both the Bavarian Radio and RAI recordings are of superb technical quality.

Reviews of Klemperer’s WDR performances on Medici Masters:
The qualities for which we prize (Klemperer) the most - firm grasp of structure, amazing clarity of texture, something one can only call utter integrity, and a disregard for momentary beauty of sound - are present in this recording to the highest degree…I would recommend it as a first choice. (Michael Tanner, BBC Music Magazine) - MM021-2

...It's particularly good to have this rugged and purposeful performance, which is notable not only for its strong sense of architecture but also for its acute awareness of the music's urgency...All of this - and it's very good indeed - is preserved in thoroughly decent 1950s radio sound. This is a disc which allows us to hear Klemperer at his finest in a work he had been conducting since the 1920s - including the London premiere in 1929, as we learn from David Patmore's notes. Strongly recommended. (Nigel Simeone, International Record Review) - MM021-2
( Medici Masters)