Klemperer may have been ambivalent (and hypocritical) in his attitude to Richard Strauss as a man, but when it came to the music he was obviously an admirer. The performance of Don Juan on this disc has almost as much fire and energy as Reiner's RCA (still the best) and is marvellously played by the Philharmonia of 1960, in those days indisputably a world-class orchestra, especially its strings. The jaunty articulation in the carnival episode and the amorous phrasing of the love music by the oboist and the strings are enough to make any Straussian want this disc.
Tod und Verklarung is nearly as good. This performance was produced by Walter Legge, hence the lovely balance between oboe and harp in the introduction and countless other points of detail for which he had an infallible ear. But I miss the rounded sound of Karajan's interpretations in the ''Idealism'' climax, where the brass are sometimes too prominent. Salome's Dance lacks a bit of theatricality, but is well done.
Klemperer's austere Metamorphosen is at the opposite pole from interpretations by Krauss, Karajan and others. It emerges as a magnificent structure—flexible and virile string-playing—but the music's poetry is sometimes hard-driven. Yet the work is so fine that it seems to invite both kinds of approach. Klemperer prefers to concentrate on exposing each strand of texture, with the solos highlighted, rather than meshing them. Splendid recorded sound, belying the 30 years that have passed.'