Vote for your Great Conductor

新漢陳Sir

下文為本人多年來收集的指揮大師Otto Klemperer的軼事，謹與各位樂迷分享。

Otto Klemperer once visited a large record store in Germany with George Mendelssohn. They were greeted by a young man. Klemperer asked, "Do you have Beethoven's Eroica Symphony conducted by Otto Klemperer?" The answer was, "We have Bruno Walter, Wilhelm Furtwängler and Karl Böhm, but no Klemperer." Otto Klemperer said, "It must be Klemperer. It is for a friend. I am Klemperer." The young man said, "If you are Klemperer, the other gentleman is Beethoven then." Klemperer said, "Nein! Er ist Mendelssohn." (No, he is Mendelssohn.)"


Klemperer was a member of the audience when Paul Hindemith gave a lecture on the philosophical aspects of modern music, which was both long winded and overbearingly pretentious. At the end of his address, the lecturer asked if there were any questions - "Haben Sie keine Frage?" ("Haven't you any question?"). For a few moments there was no response. Then the tall figure of Klemperer (6' 6") rose slowly and awkwardly to its feet. The audience held its breath in anticipation of a probing question. The great conductor spoke. "Wo ist die Toilette?" ("Where is the toilet?"), he asked.


In Germany, Klemperer once found himself rehearsing Francis Poulenc's Piano Concerto with the composer himself as solo pianist. He thought the work extremely boring, and when the orchestra stopped playing while Poulenc embarked upon a difficult cadenza, Klemperer addressed the leader in a voce (voice) which was none too sotto (soft): "Wie sagt man 'Scheisse' auf Französisch?" (How do you say 'shit' in French?)


Note:
        Otto Klemperer (1885-1973), German conductor of Jewish descent
        George H. De Mendelssohn (1913-1988), co-founder of Vox Records of Germany, great great grandson (玄孫)
        of Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1809-1847)
        Paul Hindemith (1895-1963), German composer of the 20th-century New Viennese Classical School
        Francis Poulenc (1899-1963), French composer of late Romantic School

dekiller

邊有得咁選架。人人的拿手曲目都不同，冇得比。自己比較欣賞Rene Leibowitz的老貝。Inbal的馬勒。

雕刻时光

Ferenc·Fricsay