About this Artist

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Editorial Reviews

1967! What a year! The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper! John Coltrane's Interstellar Space! Frank Sinatra with Antonio Carlos Jobim! And, of course, Otto Klemperer's Bach's "B minor Mass"! Has any year ever had it so good?

Nearly 40 years on, Sgt. Pepper is still the ultimate rock album, Interstellar Space is still the most far-out jazz album, Sinatra's Bossa Nova record is still his subtlest album, and Klemperer's B minor is still...well, what is it? After four decades of period-instrument recordings utilizing the latest in historically informed performance practice, what is Klemperer's "B minor Mass"? With the mighty and majestic New Philharmonia, the massive and monumental BBC Chorus, and an operatic and dramatic quintet of soloists, what is Klemperer's "B minor Mass"? Is it a bloated musical monstrosity? Is it a swollen spiritual abomination? Or is it, still, now, and always, the greatest recorded performance of the greatest spiritual masterpiece ever composed?

It is, of course, the latter. Klemperer, Iron Otto, one of the last giants of the podium, is relentless in exploring the musical depths and spiritual heights of the "B minor Mass," and he finds meaning in every phrase. But, more than that, Klemperer molds every phrase into a supremely meaningful whole, and, even more than that, he illuminates the whole with an intensity that passes into ecstasy, rapture, and transcendence. After listening to Klemperer's sublime "B minor Mass," period-instrument and historically informed performance practice "B minor Masses" sound like so much fashionable puff and fluff. EMI's original stereo recording was staggering, and its digital remastering is stunning. James Leonard, All Music Guide

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