Mozart - The Last 6 Symphonies - Philharmonia Orchestra, New Philharmonia Orchestra - Otto Klemperer - EMI Classics 50999 9 55932 2 (13-4-2012)
SACD rip via PS3 to 3x iso (6.52GB) | 24bit/96kHz flac | Disc 1: (1.17GB) DR12 (+0dB gain) Disc 2: (1.24GB) DR13 (+0dB gain) Disc 3: (1.31GB) DR12 (+0dB gain) | 2ch only hybrid disc | Scans (262MB) | Classical

Amazon review:
5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Klemperer, Nicely Remastered 12 May 2012
By T. Beers - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
I've been a fan of these recordings for over 40 years and they sound better than ever in these new EMI DSD/SACD remasterings. But folks shouldn't expect miracles. Not even DSD/SACD technology can make a fifty year old analog recording sound as if it had been recorded yesterday. That said, I thank EMI for taking the trouble to apply the newest technology to older recordings like these because the benefit is real, even though that benefit registers as a greater subtlety in the projection of texture, not in a super Hi-Fi transformation of the original recordings. With Klemperer performances, greater textural subtlety yields large rewards because he was a master at balancing orchestral choirs, at making everything in a classical composition "sound" clearly and in perspective. In short, the new remastering helps us better hear what Klemperer was trying to achieve. The fact remains that the newest recordings in this set sound best overall.

As for the performances, they are what they are. HIP fanatics probably will dismiss them as archaic and irrelevant, while the "speed and drama" crowd will be disappointed that they aren't more obviously emotive and colorful. I am no uncritical Klemperer admirer, and I enjoy HIP-informed performances and any other interesting take on the classic masters. But Klemperer remains a conductor I turn to again and again for stimulation and inspiration. His great accomplishment with Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven in particular was to produce un-Romantic performances that sound inevitable and "right"; sober and straightforward, yes, but also intellectually compelling and emotionally satisfying. If you also admire Klemperer's way with the classics, the new DSD/SACD remastering makes his accomplishment sound with greater clarity and presence and I think you too will be happy to have these CDs.

A couple of final notes. These are stereo recordings that, in most cases, represent Klemperer's final studio productions of this music for EMI. (Earlier EMI mono recordings of some of these symphonies have been reissued by the Testament label.) As 'Unclehulot' points out in his comment below my review, this set includes Klemperer's earlier (1956) stereo recording of the G minor symphony (No. 40), rather than the later (1960/1961) performance that EMI identifies in its liner note listing. In the earlier recording, Klemperer's tempi are faster (even fierce) and the performance is more darkly dramatic. Unclehulot also points out that the earlier recording includes the Exposition repeat, omitted in the later performance. The downside of using that earlier recording in previous CD issues was the presence of a large amount of background (tape) hiss very characteristic of mastertape recordings in the early 1950s, and which previous CD remasterings removed only by compromising sonic presence. The new remastering provides a very satisfactory improvement for a classic recording that is now pushing 60 years old! Final, final: Klemperer was a Manic Depressive and when he recorded during his manic phases his performances sometimes achieved a unique emotional incandescence, but at other times they just exhibit unpersuasive speed and violence. On the evidence presented here, I'd bet money that Klemperer was in one of his manic phases during the sessions that produced the "Linz" Symphony (No. 36). It's a fine performance with quick tempi, but it just doesn't achieve the miraculous sense of rightness-in-proportion that the other performances in this set demonstrate again and again. IMHO

This and other Amazon reviews:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mozart-Last-Symphonies-Signature-Edition/dp/B0079J27SS

SA-CD.net:
http://www.sa-cd.net/showthread/82136/83190

        Tracks:

Disc: 1
1. Symphony No. 35 in D, K.385 'Haffner': I. Allegro con spirito
2. Symphony No. 35 in D, K.385 'Haffner': II. Andante
3. Symphony No. 35 in D, K.385 'Haffner': III. Menuetto & Trio
4. Symphony No. 35 in D, K.385 'Haffner': IV. Presto
5. Symphony No. 36 in C, K.425 'Linz': I. Adagio - Allegro spiritoso
6. Symphony No. 36 in C, K.425 'Linz': II. Andante
7. Symphony No. 36 in C, K.425 'Linz': III. Menuetto & Trio
8. Symphony No. 36 in C, K.425 'Linz': IV. Presto
9. Die Entf?rung aus dem Serail, K.384: Overture

Disc: 2
1. Symphony No. 38 in D, K.504 'Prague': I. Adagio - Allegro
2. Symphony No. 38 in D, K.504 'Prague': II. Andante
3. Symphony No. 38 in D, K.504 'Prague': III. Presto
4. Symphony No. 39 in E Flat, K.543: I. Adagio - Allegro
5. Symphony No. 39 in E Flat, K.543: II. Andante con moto
6. Symphony No. 39 in E Flat, K.543: III. Menuetto & Trio
7. Symphony No. 39 in E Flat, K.543: IV. Allegro

Disc: 3
1. Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, K.550: I. Molto allegro
2. Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, K.550: II. Andante
3. Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, K.550: III. Menuetto & Trio
4. Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, K.550: IV. Allegro assai
5. Symphony No. 41 in C, K.551 'Jupiter': I. Allegro vivace
6. Symphony No. 41 in C, K.551 'Jupiter': II. Andante cantabile
7. Symphony No. 41 in C, K.551 'Jupiter': III. Menuetto (Allegretto) & Trio
8. Symphony No. 41 in C, K.551 'Jupiter': IV. Molto allegro


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