Paul Kletzki’s recordings of Mahler’s Fourth and Das Lied von der Erde were overshadowed by Klemperer’s versions of the same works, but they are by no means inferior. Indeed, in the symphony many listeners might prefer Kletzki’s livelier first-movement tempo and the easier sense of naturalness and flow everywhere else. Klemperer can sound labored in comparison. Emmy Loose in the finale also does a better job than Elisabeth Schwarzkopf in the later recording, though the climax of Kletzki’s adagio strains the trumpets and lacks brilliance.
Similarly, in Das Lied, Klemperer has amazing soloists in Fritz Wunderlich and Christa Ludwig, but tenor Murray Dickie does a very respectable job for Kletzki, and if you want the version with baritone there is none finer than this one. Fischer-Dieskau is in prime vocal estate, audibly superior to his later Decca recording for Bernstein (where his bark already was becoming more severe than his bite), and the Philharmonia orchestra plays with even greater confidence than it did subsequently, when it was in the midst of transition to the “New Philharmonia” and Klemperer’s age was beginning to show despite his evident love of the score. The sonics, particularly in Das Lied, also sound remarkably clean and fresh. The two shorter items are nice to have, and they’re well done. In short, these performances deserve to be enjoyed, respected, and above all, listened to. They have withstood the test of time.
