ON THIS DAY

Conductor Otto Klemperer Was Born in 1885

May 14, 2021

2 MIN READ

Remembered as one of the finest conductors of the 20th Century, he served principal conducting positions with the L'opéra De Strasbourg, Opera Cologne, Opera Wiesbaden, Kroll Oper, Royal Opera House, Budapest Opera and the Los Angeles Philharmonic

German conductor and composer Otto Klemperer was born on this day in 1885.

Klemperer's career took him across Germany, the United States, Hungary, and ultimately Great Britain. Initially recognized for his work as an opera conductor, Klemperer later gained prominence for his mastery of symphonic music.

Having been mentored by the renowned composer and conductor Gustav Mahler, Klemperer ascended to increasingly prestigious conductorships at opera houses in Germany from 1907 onwards. His tenure as director of the Kroll Opera in Berlin from 1929 to 1931 marked a period of innovation, with avant-garde productions of both new works and classical pieces.

However, his Jewish heritage compelled him to leave Germany in 1933, leading to his appointment as chief conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic shortly thereafter. He also guest-conducted several prominent American orchestras, including the San Francisco Symphony, the New York Philharmonic, and later the Pittsburgh Symphony, which he restructured into a permanent ensemble.

In the late 1930s, Klemperer faced health challenges due to a brain tumor, resulting in partial paralysis on his right side following a successful operation. Compounded by his lifelong struggle with bipolar disorder, he endured periods of intense mania and severe depression, which significantly disrupted his career until he recovered in the mid-1940s.

His next position was as musical director of the Hungarian State Opera in Budapest from 1947 to 1950.

Klemperer's later years were primarily centered in London, where he began a fruitful collaboration with the Philharmonia Orchestra in 1951. Although his interpretations of Mozart were met with mixed reviews, some finding them weighty, he garnered widespread acclaim as the foremost interpreter of symphonies by Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner, and Mahler. His legacy includes nearly 200 recordings made with the Philharmonia and its successor, the New Philharmonia, until his retirement in 1972.

He also premiered a number of new works, including Janáček's From the House of the Dead, Schönberg's Erwartung, Stravinsky's Oedipus rex and Hindemith's Cardillac.