Wikipedia:Peer review/Otto Klemperer/archive1

This peer review discussion is closed.
.

This peer review discussion is closed.

I have listed this article for peer review because having just finished overhauling it I hope to take it to FAC, and would value suggestions from colleagues for improving it. I was lucky enough to attend Klemperer concerts at the Festival Hall at the very end of his career, and half a century on I am anxious to do justice to a giant of music. Tim riley talk 18:19, 23 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]

SC

I know very little about Klemperer, so cannot hope to review in any more than a prose-picking manner.

Overlinking

1. Recordings Eighth Symphony 2. Legacy Royal Academy of Music

German opera houses

"From Prague Klemperer": Just to avoid people wondering which family member 'Prague Klemperer' was, perhaps a comma would help?

Los Angeles

"concertgoing": should be hyphenated, according to the OED

Done to the start of the Post-war section – will continue shortly. – SchroCat (talk) 11:07, 27 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Ta! All very much ad rem, and all acted on. Looking forward to more at your leisure. Tim riley talk 22:39, 27 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Compositions

Shouldn't "kapellmeister" be italicised?

The OED doesn't, and if we do we'll have to capitalise it, as it's a German noun. Better as it is, I think. Tim riley talk 21:03, 28 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]

"His compositional ideas" as it's a new paragraph, it should really be "Klemperer's compositional ideas", but that's more personal preference than a rule. (Your call and I won't demur either way)

Yes: recast. Tim riley talk 21:03, 28 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Given he was a student of Schoenberg, was there any influence in Klemperer's compositions that can be added here?

I've mentioned all I can find (Keller's comment) in the Life section. I'd like to add more here, but can't find anything relevant. Tim riley talk 21:03, 28 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]

That's my lot – an interesting read on someone I knew nothing about previously. Seems a bit of an accident-prone chappie, but them's the breaks! Cheers – SchroCat (talk) 09:48, 28 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you, SchroCat. Yes, poor OK was seldom OK, and I admire him all the more for his indomitable spirit, which comes out in his readings of Beethoven and others, I am perfectly certain. Tim riley talk 21:03, 28 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Aza

Marking my spot. Very happy to see this here—his recordings of Mahler, particularly Das Lied, are sublime. Two brief comments for now:

Perhaps adjust the lead's penultimate line to just "[...] of Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner, Mahler and other Austro-German symphonists"? Those Symphonic traditions are close enough that the seperation of Mahler seems unwarranted. The current is misleading anyways since Bruckner is also Austrian.

I'll ponder. Mahler seems to me an outlier - like Berlioz, not part of any national musical tradition.

I tend to disagree, recalling the use of "Austro-German tradition" in both our WP Mahler article and that of Grove Aza24 (talk) 23:45, 1 January 2023 (UTC)[reply]

True, but Grove and our article (an FA from the beloved and much-missed Brian Boulton) respectively call Mahler "a mediator" or "a bridge" between the Austro-German musical tradition and early 20th-century modernism, rather than part of the former. Point taken about Bruckner, of course. I'll ponder further. Tim riley talk 19:40, 3 January 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Redrawn. Tim riley talk 17:17, 17 January 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Imo, the most interesting/useful information a conductor's WP article can provide is comment on their stylistic approach. I see that some of this is included in the reputation section, but am wondering if a separate section (like in the article for Boulez) might be warranted. Having not read the entire article yet, I cannot completely judge this matter yet. I recall Klemperer having a reputation for rather slow interpretations, though I may be confusing him with someone else (or misremembering the information).

No, you aren't mistaking him for someone else. He was often thought slow in his later years. I think I've given this enough coverage but will be glad of your thoughts in due course.

More soon – Aza24 (talk) 20:51, 31 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]

What ho, Aza24! Are you thinking of commenting further? If not, I think I'll close the PR after a decent interval and leg it to FAC. Tim riley talk 17:06, 17 January 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Ah! I do indeed intend to leave further comments, but am not sure when I'll be able to. Thus, please feel free to close the PR at any point, and I will either comment here or there. Best – Aza24 (talk) 22:40, 17 January 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Aza24, I'm in no rush at all, and as you are planning to comment further I'll wait, as I'd particularly value your thoughts before going to FAC. I repeat: no rush! Tim riley talk 15:11, 18 January 2023 (UTC)[reply]

The middle name note seems more unneeded in the lead—perhaps keep it only in the body?

Done. Tim riley talk 09:42, 22 January 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I believe that Klemperer left Pfitzner rather quickly upon hearing him insult Mahler (though I may be remembering wrong), this might be worth including

I think you are indeed remembering wrong. Klemperer's relationship with Pfitzner was edgy and sometimes confrontational, but according to Klemperer, "Pfitzner not only esteemed Mahler, he loved him" and thought him "full of humanity and a great man".

The piano arrangement is now lost (mentioned in Conversations with Conductors, 1976), worth a note maybe? Not sure

Done. It's short enough to fit in seamlessly. Tim riley talk 09:42, 22 January 2023 (UTC)[reply]

If available, a word or two on examples of repertoire he would have overseen in his early positions might be warranted.

Good idea. I'll rummage on my shelves and add what I can. Tim riley talk 09:42, 22 January 2023 (UTC)[reply]

"advanced music" seems to imply a certain superiority, perhaps "complex" is more neutral?

You're right. I thought Klemperer had used the word, but no - "I constantly tried to explain that the Los Angeles public was not ready for him". I don't think "complex" is the word, though. What about "challenging"? Tim riley talk 09:50, 22 January 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Are we sure 1906 is the correct year that Thomson is recalling? He would have been 10 at the point—not impossible, but would be surprising for him to have such a memory I suppose.

I'm so glad you spotted this. I misread my own notes, conflating two similarly named critics. A Virgil Thomson review of a Klemperer concert is quoted elsewhere in the Heyworth book, but this review was by Oscar Thompson (1887-1945), variously music critic of Musical America, the New York Evening Post, and the New York Sun. Now amended. Tim riley talk 10:12, 22 January 2023 (UTC)[reply]

"the orchestra with which he was later most closely associated" seems out of place, particularly since the same statement is given at the beginning of the London section

Pruned. Tim riley talk 21:06, 22 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

As earlier, I don't know that Mahler is "outside the core German repertory", but I digress
Something reflective of Grove's statement that many of his compositions "were extensively revised and a number were destroyed." may be worth including

Done. Tim riley talk 21:06, 22 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I wonder if the rather minimal content in the Legacy section could simply be moved to the honours section. The namesake chair seems like an honour (albeit posthumous) anyways

Point taken, but I can't see how to recast the text accordingly. I'm inclined to leave it as it is. Tim riley talk 21:06, 22 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

The article flows very nicely and has an excellent balance. A pleasure to read. – Aza24 (talk) 23:03, 21 January 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you, Aza24. Excellent, helpful suggestions. Tim riley talk 21:06, 22 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Ian

Very lightly copyedited as it reads well (unsurprisingly!) and seems comprehensive without being over-detailed. I'm completely impartial having, for better or worse, far more Karajan than Klemperer in my klassical kollection...
After this pass for prose, I might return to check image licensing and sources if no-one beats me too it... Cheers, Ian Rose (talk) 19:54, 12 January 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you, Ian. Your tweaks are mostly spot-on. I went to more Klemperer concerts in my youth than to Karajan ones - only one of the latter in fact: Brahms 1 and 3 at the Festival Hall in the early 1970s. Tim riley talk 20:50, 12 January 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Image review -- licensing looks okay for all except the Schoenberg image from USC, as neither of the links (image and licensing policy) work; it might be easier to use archived links from the Wayback Machine than search on USC's site (I tried that unsuccessfully). Cheers, Ian Rose (talk) 11:48, 22 January 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Ian, thank you so much for taking that trouble. To be on the safe side I have used a different photo of Schoenberg. Many thanks for your review here, and for your comforting presence at FAC! Tim riley talk 18:44, 22 January 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Ah Tim, nothing really gets you down -- the only person I know who can put "FAC" and "comforting" in the same sentence...! I do appreciate the thought though... :-) Cheers, Ian Rose (talk) 20:43, 22 January 2023 (UTC)[reply]