There are so many reasons to like Otto Klemperer. He knew his Beethoven by heart. He was an early champion of Mahler (and knew him as well). He showed distaste for the rise of the Nazi party in Germany after WWI – managed to survive and escape to the USA where he conducted the Los Angeles Philharmonic for several years before eventually returning to Germany after WWII to give Richard Strauss what for about being politically amoral. Go get ‘em Klemp! In fact, it’s amazing to watch in the film how he navigates through several political situations while remaining true to his ideals and morals. In other words – he moved around a LOT. But consider this – how many people can claim to have enjoyed dual citizenship status of both West Germany AND Israel – simultaneously – in their lives? That’s my man Otto for you.
As if escaping from the Nazis wasn’t enough – life was to deal Klemperer a number of crazy blows. While living in exile in the US, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor – though he survived surgery his recovery was protracted and left him with partial paralysis on his right side (even effecting his facial muscles). In 1951, he suffered a fall and broke his hip. In the early 60s he survived accidentally setting fire to himself (and absent-mindedly trying to put the fire out with a bottle of alcohol sitting on his night-table next to his bed – he admits to doing this in the documentary!!). I don’t think he was ever run over by a sixteen-wheeler truck, but hell – seems like that’s the ONLY thing that didn’t happen to him. The fact that he lived to be 88 years old and worked right up to a year prior to his death is a testament to the triumph of the human spirit – or just crazy luck. Stubborn German, as my mother might put it.
I have to admit, I have only a few of his works – a Bruckner 7th, some Beethoven……but after watching this (admittedly low-budget, but ultimately awesome) documentary I want to grab all the Klemperer I can get my hands on. I really think if you could go back in time and put Otto Klemperer and Sonny Boy Williamson in the same room with a deck of cards you’d have yourself a HELL of a time right there! With the right amount of spiritual lubricants they’d end up either in fisticuffs or laughing and back-slapping each other (or BOTH). I should be so lucky to live to be an 88 year old badass MOFO like Klemp. They’re not making them like this anymore, folks. It’s mindblowing to see the footage at about 1:20:00 where he’s conducting in a recording session at Abbey Road Studios at around 1970 or so. He looks DISGUSTED with all those interruptions over the recording process – heck! He ain’t PINK FLOYD, y’know!
Watching the documentary, I couldn’t help wondering if Peter Sellers used Klemperer as a model for his Dr. Strangelove character – the resemblance is pretty striking! The film is pretty funky and requires a lot of sub-title reading, but the anecdotes are worth the effort, even if the soundtrack is a little wobbly. I guess what I like most about Otto Klemperer is his refusal to concede to oppressive dictators, his determination and sheer intensity of being. Listening to that Bruckner 7th yet again – there’s a real weight to the performance that must be attributed to Klemperer’s influence.
Here’s a link to the official New York Times obituary – good synopsis of his life and legacy:
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0514.html
And here’s that documentary. It’s pretty hard-core stuff, but there are some wonderfully entertaining stories and anecdotes.
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