Walter Legge, founder of the Philharmonia Orchestra and one of the chief recording producers of the last century, wanted to secure a set of Beethoven symphonies that would not only fill an immediate commercial need but would stand the test of time. In Otto Klemperer he found the ideal candidate and their partnership yielded not only the Symphonies and Overtures (some more than once) but also the Missa Solemnis and Fidelio.
Beethoven was fated to struggle throughout his life especially with the deafness that he started to notice when in his early thirties, thereby forcing him to look increasingly to his inner being for the spark of creation. Klemperer, too, had his fights for life including suffering a stroke whilst a brain tumor was being removed and having to flee his country within a day to prevent potential arrest by the Nazi authorities.
This set not only includes the symphonies (with both versions of Nos. 3 and 5 and all three of No. 7) but also nine of the Overtures (with duplicate versions) and extracts from the Incidental music to Egmont and the ballet The Creatures of Prometheus. Although these recordings have been available in various couplings, this is the first time that a comprehensive collection of Beethoven’s solo orchestral work conducted by Otto Klemperer has been made.
