Highbrow
In the past two years Klemperer has become the world's most OK conductor. Toscanin is every lowbrow's taste, Walter every middle brow's. The highbrow, to dissociate himself from the millions, must personally prefe (though, of course, he may with lofty objec tivity praise the many admirable qualities of these two) some slightly less glamorous senior figure—generally a German. Some years ago it was FurtwRngler, then Kleiber. Since their death, Klemperer has deservedly been set on this enviable throne, recognised by those with 'that little extra discrimination' as the trir master.
Do not think I am making fun of high brows. I always thought and hoped I wa one myself. But clearly I am not, for the Fourth Symphony, with which Klemperer opened his Brahms-cycle last week, had no appeal for me at all. Brahms is the most susceptible of all composers to differences of interpretation. A Beethoven symphony re mains indestructibly itself whether whipped by Toscanini or caressed by Walter. Not so Brahms. Caressed, as by the Italians—no Toscanini and Cantelli, whose style is Amen can, but Gui, Previtali and Barbirolli—he I expansively and sensuously lyrical, almost Schubertian. Whipped, or driven, as by the Germans or Americans, he becomes at obstinate, long-winded, ponderous boil Klemperer's treatment was thoroughly Ger man, and produced little to delight, either from Brahms or from the Philharmonia Orchestra, who played with a roughness of attack and tone, a fierce brassiness, and on occasion a coarseness and insensitivity of individual phrasing, hard to believe of then' The programme-note quoted an opinion of Brahms expressed by Tchaikovsky: 'All that he does is serious and noble, but he lacks the chief thing—beauty.' Tchaikovsky must have been hearing just such a performance 3$ Klemperer's, in which the Fourth Symphony answered that description to the letter. If this is the authentic German Brahms, better for my taste the unauthentic Italian, lowbrow and
all. COLIN MAS01
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