Conductor/composer Paul Kletzki's wide-ranging musical career has been the stuff of legend among musicians and record collectors. Not much has been available outside the British Isles for us to cherish, but now that gap has been filled with this beautifully restored 10CD set, with mostly live broadcast recordings spanning his post WWII career from 1946-61. Kletzki's early success as a composer in Germany brought him to the attention of Furtwangler, who invited him to lead the Berlin Philharmonic in 1932. When Hitler came to power, Kletzki, being of Polish-Jewish descent, had to abruptly leave Germany,. He fled first to Italy, then Switzerland, France, and finally to England and Israel, where he formed strong relationships with both the Philharmonia Orchestra beginning in 1946 and with the Isreal Philharmonic. His inspired, electrifying music-making became the stuff of legend, and it is these performances that are featured here.
Up to now I had only heard some of his riveting Beethoven, issued by Musical Heritage Society during the 1970's on LP. That was enough to burn his musical presence into my memory, and make me grab this box recently. Everything Kletzki touched turns to fiery gold, from Brahms to Sibelius, but some discs stand out as milestones. In 1954, Kletzki travelled to Israel, where modern full-range recording equipment had just been delivered to make the first post-war recording of Mahler's great Ninth Symphony with the Isreal Philharmonic, a recording that answers the question: "What if Toscanini had conducted Mahler?" Kletzki's powerful reading tests the virtuosity and passionate committment to Mahler's music of Europe's best Jewish musicians, particularly in the Scherzo, which had me on the edge of my seat! Kletzki's interpretations of Brahms III & IV, may have inspired Toscanini to appear with the Philharmonia orchestra leading a complete cycle (with Dennis Brain playing the crucial French horn) in the summer of 1952. Also, a live 1955 Stockholm performance of Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto with David Oistrakh leaves no doubt of the famed violinist's virtuoso abilities, unlike his Melodiya recording of the same piece made a few years later which tended to relax the tempo in more difficult passages. Kletzki, by contrast, gives Oistrakh no quarter, and the result is both exhilarating and terrifying!
I could go on, but you get the idea! There is more, much more, to cherish in this set of beautifully restored recordings, all from original tapes. Don't miss this monumental glimpse into the art of a great, but not forgotten, conductor. Five enthusiastic gold stars!