Editing Otto Klemperer (section)

==Life and career==
===Early years===
Otto Nossan{{refn|Nossan is the [[Ashkenazi Hebrew|Ashkenazic]] rendering of the [[Sephardi Hebrew|Sephardic]] "Nathan".<ref>Heyworth (1996, Vol 1), p. 4</ref>|group=n|name=name}} Klemperer was born on 14 May 1885 in Breslau, [[Province of Silesia]], in what was then the [[German Empire|Imperial German]] state of [[Prussia]]; the city is now [[Wrocław]], Poland. He was the second child and only son of Nathan Klemperer and his wife Ida, ''née'' Nathan.<ref>Heyworth (1996, Vol 1), pp. 2 and 4</ref>{{refn|The Klemperers' other children were Regina (1883–1965) and Marianne (1889–1967).<ref>Heyworth (1996, Vol 1), pp. 458 and 462</ref>|group=n}} The family name had originally been ''Klopper'', but was changed to ''Klemperer'' in 1787 in response to a decree by the Austrian emperor [[Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor|Joseph II]] aimed at [[1782 Edict of Tolerance|assimilating Jews into Christian society]].<ref>Johnson and Koyama, p. 8; Heyworth (1985), p. 17 and (1996, Vol 1), p. 1</ref> Nathan Klemperer was originally from [[Josefov]], the [[Jewish ghettos in Europe|ghetto]] in the [[Bohemia]]n city of Prague; Ida was from a more prosperous Jewish family in [[Hamburg]], of [[Sephardic Jews|Sephardic]] descent.<ref>Heyworth (1996, Vol 1), p. 2</ref> Both parents were musical: Nathan sang and Ida played the piano.<ref>Heyworth (1985), p. 18</ref>

When Klemperer was four the family moved from Breslau to Hamburg, where Nathan earned a modest living in commercial posts and his wife gave piano lessons.<ref>Heyworth (1996, Vol 1), pp. 5–9</ref> It was decided quite early in Klemperer's life that he would become a professional musician, and when he was about five he started piano lessons with his mother.<ref>Heyworth (1996, Vol 1), p. 10</ref> At the [[Hoch Conservatory]] in [[Frankfurt]] he studied the piano with [[James Kwast]] and theory with Ivan Knorr.<ref name=grove>Heyworth, Peter and John Lucas. [http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/15136 "Klemperer, Otto"], Grove Music Online, Oxford University Press, retrieved 17 July 2014 {{subscription required}} {{Cite web |url=https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/display/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000015136 |title=Klemperer, Otto |access-date=24 December 2022 |archive-date=24 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221224181046/https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/display/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000015136 |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref> Kwast moved to Berlin, first to the [[Klindworth-Scharwenka Conservatory]] in 1902 and then to the [[Stern Conservatory]] in 1905.<ref>Heyworth (1996, Vol 1), pp. 15 and 19</ref> Klemperer followed him at each move, and later credited him with the whole basis of his musical development.<ref>Heyworth (1996, Vol 1), pp. 14 and 19</ref> Among Klemperer's other teachers was [[Hans Pfitzner]], with whom he studied composition and conducting.<ref name=grove/>

{{Quote box |bgcolor=#EAF2F8 |salign=right| quote = Gustav Mahler recommends Herr Klemperer as an outstanding musician, who despite his youth is already very experienced and is predestined for a conductor's career. He vouches for the successful outcome of any probationary appointment and will gladly provide further information personally.| source = Testimonial given to Klemperer by Mahler in 1907<ref>Lebrecht, p. 204</ref>|align=right| width=300px}}

In 1905, Klemperer met [[Gustav Mahler]] at a rehearsal of the latter's [[Symphony No. 2 (Mahler)|Second Symphony]] in Berlin. [[Oskar Fried]] conducted, and Klemperer was given charge of the off-stage orchestra.<ref>Heyworth (1985), p. 29</ref> He later made a piano arrangement (now lost) of the symphony, which he played to the composer in 1907 when visiting Vienna. In the interim he made his public debut as a conductor in May 1906, taking over from Fried after the first night of the fifty-performance run of [[Max Reinhardt]]'s production of ''[[Orpheus in the Underworld]]'' at the [[Metropol (Berlin)|New Theatre]], Berlin.<ref>Heyworth (1985), p. 28</ref>

Mahler wrote a short testimonial, recommending Klemperer, on a small card which Klemperer kept for the rest of his life.<ref>Chesterman, p. 105</ref> On the strength of Mahler's endorsement, Klemperer was appointed chorus master and assistant conductor at the [[New German Theatre]] in Prague in 1907.<ref>Chesterman, p. 106</ref>

===German opera houses===
From Prague, Klemperer moved to be assistant conductor at the [[Hamburg State Opera]] (1910–1912), where the [[sopranos]] [[Lotte Lehmann]] and [[Elisabeth Schumann]] made their joint débuts under his direction.<ref name=times>"Dr Otto Klemperer", ''The Times'', 9 July 1973, p. 16</ref>{{refn|At the Hamburg Opera Klemperer came to international attention for the first time, but not for musical reasons: the husband of one the singers of the company attempted to horsewhip him during a performance. Klemperer jumped off the podium and came at his assailant with bare fists. The incident was much reported in foreign newspapers.<ref>"Real Drama at the Opera", ''London Evening News'', 29 December 1912, p. 3; "Whips Conductor in Opera House", ''Ottawa Free Press'', 24 January 1913, p. 13; "In Hamburg Theater", ''The Cincinnati Enquirer'', 29 December 1912, p. 4; "Horsewhip at an Opera", ''Geelong Advertiser'', 8 February 1913, p. 4</ref> The attacker's motives were not recorded at the time, but according to [[Walter Legge]]'s memoirs, the assailant's wife was Elisabeth Schumann and Klemperer was having an affair with her.<ref>Schwarzkopf, p. 171</ref>|group=n}} His first chief conductorship was at [[Barmen]] (1912–1913), after which he moved to the much larger [[Opéra national du Rhin|Strasbourg Opera]] (1914–1917) as deputy to Pfitzner. From 1917 to 1924 he was chief conductor of the [[Cologne Opera]].<ref name=grove/><ref>Heyworth (1985), p. 11</ref> During his Cologne years he married [[Johanna Geisler]], a singer in the opera company, in 1919. She was a Christian, and he had converted from Judaism.<ref name=anb>Keene, pp. 790–791</ref> He remained a practising Roman Catholic until 1967, when he left the faith and returned to Judaism.<ref name=h62>Heyworth (1985), p. 62</ref> The couple had two children: [[Werner Klemperer|Werner]], who became an actor, and Lotte, who became her father's assistant and eventually, his caregiver.<ref name=nyt/><ref>Schwarzkopf, p. 172</ref> Johanna continued her operatic career, sometimes in performances conducted by her husband. She retired from singing by the mid-1930s.<ref>Heyworth (1996, Vol 2), pp. 76 77</ref> The couple remained close and mutually supportive until her death in 1956.<ref>Heyworth (1996, Vol 1), pp. 264 265; and (1996, Vol 2), pp. 75, 124 125 and 258</ref>

In 1923, Klemperer turned down an invitation from the [[Berlin State Opera]] to succeed [[Leo Blech]] as musical director; he declined the post, because he did not believe he would be given enough artistic authority over productions.<ref name=h63>Heyworth (1985), pp. 63–65</ref> The following year, he became conductor at the [[Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden|Prussian State Theatre]] in Wiesbaden (1924–1927), a smaller theatre than others in which he had worked, but one where he had the control he sought over stagings.<ref name=h63/> There he conducted new, and often modernistic, productions of a range of operas from ''[[The Marriage of Figaro]]'', ''[[Don Giovanni]]'', ''[[Fidelio]]'' and ''[[Lohengrin (opera)|Lohengrin]]'' to ''[[Elektra (opera)|Elektra]]'' and ''[[The Soldier's Tale]]''. He found his tenure there rewarding and fulfilling, later describing it as the happiest of his career.<ref>Heyworth (1996, Vol 1), pp. 200–201, and 208</ref>

Klemperer visited Russia in 1924, conducting there during a six-week stay; he returned each year until 1936.<ref>Levin, Bernard. "Klemperer Concerto", ''The Observer'', 3 June 1973, p. 37</ref> In 1926 he made his American début, succeeding [[Eugene Aynsley Goossens|Eugene Goossens]] as guest conductor of the [[New York Symphony Orchestra]].<ref>"The World of Music", ''Brooklyn Daily Eagle'', 3 January 1926, p. 2E</ref> In his eight-week engagement with the orchestra he gave Mahler's [[Symphony No. 9 (Mahler)|Ninth Symphony]] and Janáček's [[Sinfonietta (Janáček)|Sinfonietta]], in their first performances in the US.<ref name=anb/><ref name=nyt>Montgomery, Paul L. [https://www.nytimes.com/1973/07/08/archives/otto-klemperer-conductor-dead-at-88-otto-klemperer-conductor-noted.html "Otto Klemperer, Conductor, Dead at 88"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221221164519/https://www.nytimes.com/1973/07/08/archives/otto-klemperer-conductor-dead-at-88-otto-klemperer-conductor-noted.html |date=21 December 2022 }}, ''The New York Times'', 8 July 1973, p. 1</ref>

===Berlin===
In 1927, a new opera company was established in Berlin to complement the State Opera, highlighting new works and innovative productions. The company, officially Staatsoper am Platz der Republik, was better known as the [[Kroll Opera]].<ref name=cook/> [[Leo Kestenberg]], the influential head of the Prussian Ministry of Culture, proposed Klemperer as its first director. Klemperer was offered a ten-year contract and accepted it on condition that he would be allowed to conduct orchestral concerts in the theatre, and that he could employ his chosen design and stage experts.<ref name=cook>Cook, p. 2</ref>

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 102-09067, Berlin, Kroll-Oper.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|[[Kroll Opera House]], 1930|alt=exterior of neo-classical theatre building]]
Klemperer's biographer [[Peter Heyworth]] describes the conductor's tenure at the Kroll as "of crucial significance in his career and the development of opera in the first half of the 20th century".<ref name=grove/> In both concert and operatic performances, Klemperer introduced much new music. Asked later which were the most important of the operas he introduced there, he listed:
{{blockindent|The [[Igor Stravinsky|Stravinsky]] works − ''[[Oedipus rex (opera)|Oedipus rex]]'', ''[[Mavra]]'', ''[[L'Histoire du soldat]]''; [[Ernst Krenek|Krenek]]'s three one-act operas, ''[[Der Diktator]]'', ''[[Das geheime Königreich]]'' and ''[[Schwergewicht]]'', as well as ''[[Leben des Orest|Das Leben des Orest]]''; [[Paul Hindemith|Hindemith's]] ''[[Cardillac]]'', ''[[Neues vom Tage]]'', and ''[[Hin und zurück]]''; [[Janáček]]'s ''[[From the House of the Dead|Aus einem Totenhaus]]'', with its libretto from [[Fyodor Dostoevsky|Dostoevsky]]; and [[Arnold Schoenberg|Schoenberg]]'s ''[[Erwartung]]'' and ''[[Die glückliche Hand]]''.<ref>Osborne and Thompson, p. 90</ref>|}}

In Heyworth's view, the modern approach to production at the Kroll − contrasting with conventional representational settings and costumes − exemplified in "a drastically stylised production" of ''[[Der fliegende Holländer]]'' in 1929 was "a decisive forerunner of [[Wieland Wagner]]'s innovations at [[Bayreuth Festival|Bayreuth]]".<ref name=grove/> The production divided critical opinion, which ranged from "A new outrage to a German masterpiece&nbsp;... grotesque" to "an unusual and magnificent performance&nbsp;... a fresh wind has blown tinsel and cobwebs away".<ref>Calvocoressi, M. D. "Music in the Foreign Press", ''[[The Musical Times]]'', 1 April 1929. pp. 322–323</ref>{{refn|Klemperer was noted for his laconic wit; a much retold story is of his backstage encounter with the composer's son, [[Siegfried Wagner|Siegfried]], after the dress rehearsal of the controversial production of ''Der fliegende Holländer''. Punning on ''setzen'' (be seated) and ''entsetzen'' (be appalled), Klemperer offered his visitor a chair: "Grüss Gott, Herr Wagner, bitte entsetzen sie sich" – Greetings, Herr Wagner, please be appalled.<ref>Osborne and Thompson, pp. 37–38</ref>|group=n}}

In 1929, Klemperer made his British début, conducting the [[London Symphony Orchestra]] in the first London performance of [[Anton Bruckner|Bruckner's]] [[Symphony No. 8 (Bruckner)|Eighth Symphony]]. The British music critics gave the symphony a lukewarm reception, but Klemperer was widely praised for "the power of a dominating personality", "masterful control" and as "a great orchestral commander".<ref>"Klemperer and the LSO", ''The Daily Telegraph'', 21 November 1929, p. 8; "Courtauld Concerts", ''The Manchester Guardian'', 22 November 1929, p. 12; and "Music of the Week", ''The Observer'', 29 November 1929, p. 14</ref> A leading critic called for the [[BBC]] to give Klemperer a long-term appointment in London.<ref>Reid, p. 191</ref>

The Kroll Opera closed in 1931, ostensibly because of a financial crisis, although in Klemperer's view the motives were political. He said that [[Heinz Tietjen]], director of the State Opera, told him that it was not, as Klemperer supposed, anti-Semitism that had worked against him: "No, that is not so important. It's your whole political and artistic direction they don't like."<ref>Heyworth (1985), p. 83</ref> Klemperer's contract obliged him to transfer to the main State Opera, where, with such conductors as [[Bruno Walter]], [[Wilhelm Furtwängler]] and Leo Blech already established, there was little important work for him.<ref>Heyworth (1985), p. 84</ref> He remained there until 1933, when the rise of the [[Nazi]]s caused him to leave for safety in Switzerland, joined by his wife and children.<ref>Heyworth (1985), pp. 87–88</ref>

===Los Angeles===
In exile from Germany, Klemperer found that conducting work was far from plentiful, although he secured some prestigious engagements in Vienna and at the [[Salzburg Festival]].<ref>Heyworth (1996, Vol 2), pp. 12–13 and 14–15</ref> He was sounded out by [[William Andrews Clark Jr.|William Andrews Clark]], founder and sponsor of the [[Los Angeles Philharmonic]], about becoming the orchestra's chief conductor in succession to [[Artur Rodziński]], who was leaving to take over the [[Cleveland Orchestra]]. The Los Angeles orchestra was not then regarded as among the finest American ensembles, and the salary was less than Klemperer would have liked, but he accepted and sailed to the US in 1935.<ref>Heyworth (1996, Vol 2), pp. 20–22</ref>

[[File:Arnold schönberg man ray.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Arnold Schoenberg]] gave Klemperer composition lessons.|alt=middle-aged white man, bald, clean-shaven]]
The orchestra's finances were perilous; Clark had lost a substantial portion of his fortune in the [[Great Depression]] and could no longer afford subventions on the scale of earlier years.<ref>Heyworth (1996, Vol 2), p. 21</ref> Despite box-office constraints, Klemperer successfully introduced unfamiliar works including Mahler's ''[[Das Lied von der Erde]]'' and Second Symphony, Bruckner's [[Symphony No. 4 (Bruckner)|Fourth]] and [[Symphony No. 7 (Bruckner)|Seventh]] Symphonies, and works by Stravinsky.<ref name=h89>Heyworth (1985), pp. 89–91</ref><ref>"Stage Attractions", ''Los Angeles Illustrated Daily News'', 24 May 1935, p. 15</ref> He programmed music from ''[[Gurre-Lieder|Gurrelieder]]'' by his fellow exile and Los Angeles neighbour [[Arnold Schoenberg]],<ref>"Music and Musicians", ''The Los Angeles Times'', 13 September 1936, p. 53</ref> although the composer complained that Klemperer did not perform his works more often. Klemperer insisted that the local public was not ready for such demanding music; Schoenberg did not bear a grudge and, as Klemperer always aspired to compose as well as to conduct, Schoenberg gave him composition lessons.<ref name=h89/> Klemperer considered him "the greatest living teacher of composition, although&nbsp;... he never mentioned the [[Twelve-tone technique|twelve-tone]] system".<ref name=hk>Keller, p. 56</ref> The musicologist [[Hans Keller]] nevertheless found "tonal varieties of the Schoenbergian method" used "penetratingly" in Klemperer's compositions.<ref name=hk/>

In 1935, at [[Arthur Judson]]'s invitation, Klemperer conducted the [[New York Philharmonic]] for four weeks. The orchestra's chief conductor, [[Arturo Toscanini]], was in Europe and Klemperer took charge of the opening concerts of the season. The New York concert-going public was deeply conservative<ref>Kennedy, p. 144</ref> but despite Judson's warning that programming Mahler would be highly damaging at the box-office, Klemperer insisted on giving the Second Symphony.<ref name=h97/> The notices praised the conducting<ref>Strickland, Harold A. "Music in Review", ''[[Brooklyn Times Union]]'', 13 December 1935, p. 6; and Sargeant, Withrop. "Klemperer Leads Philharmonic in Mahler Symphony", ''[[Brooklyn Daily Eagle]]'', 13 December 1935, p. 15</ref> – Oscar Thompson wrote in ''[[Musical America]]'' that the performance was the best he had heard since Mahler conducted the work in New York in 1906<ref>Thomson, Virgil. Review, ''Musical America'', 25 December 1935, ''quoted'' in Heyworth (1996, Vol 2), p. 55</ref> – but the ticket sales were as poor as Judson had predicted, and the orchestra had a deficit of $5,000 from the concert.<ref name=h97/> When Toscanini resigned from the Philharmonic the following year, he recommended Klemperer as his successor, but Klemperer recognised that after "this affair of the Mahler symphony" he would not be re-engaged.<ref name=h97>Heyworth (1985), p. 97</ref> Nonetheless, when the then little-known [[John Barbirolli]] was announced as Toscanini's successor, Klemperer wrote a vehement letter to Judson protesting at being passed over.<ref>Heyworth (1996, Vol 2), pp. 60–61</ref>{{refn|Klemperer later conceded that Barbirolli "wasn't so bad" and was badly underrated by the New York critics.<ref name=h97/>|group=n}}

Having returned to Los Angeles, Klemperer conducted the orchestra's concerts there and in out-of-town venues such as [[San Diego]], [[Santa Barbara, California|Santa Barbara]], [[Fresno, California|Fresno]] and [[Claremont, California|Claremont]]. He and the orchestra worked with leading soloists, including [[Artur Schnabel]], [[Emanuel Feuermann]], [[Joseph Szigeti]], [[Bronisław Huberman]] and Lotte Lehmann.<ref>Mores Jones, Isabel. "Brilliant Season Predicted for Philharmonic Orchestra", ''The Los Angeles Times'', 5 January 1936, p. 8</ref> [[Pierre Monteux]] was conductor of the [[San Francisco Symphony]] and he and Klemperer guest-conducted each other's orchestras. After a concert under Klemperer in 1936, the ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'''s music critic hailed him as one of the world's greatest conductors, along with Furtwängler, Walter and Toscanini.<ref>Canarina, p. 127</ref>

===1938 to 1945===
The governing board of the [[Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra|Pittsburgh Symphony]] approached Klemperer in early 1938, seeking his help in reconstituting the orchestra – an ''ad hoc'' group since 1927 – as a permanent ensemble. He held auditions in Pittsburgh and, more fruitfully, in New York, and after three weeks of intensive rehearsal the orchestra was ready for the opening concerts of the season, which he conducted. The results were highly successful, and he was offered a large salary to remain as the orchestra's chief conductor. He was contractually committed to Los Angeles, but contemplated taking on the direction of both orchestras. He decided against it and [[Fritz Reiner]] was appointed as conductor in Pittsburgh.<ref>Heyworth (1996, Vol 2), pp. 91–92</ref>

In 1939, Klemperer began to suffer from serious balance problems.<ref>Heyworth (1996, Vol 2), p. 96</ref> A potentially fatal brain tumour was diagnosed and he travelled to Boston for an operation to remove it.<ref name=h99/> The operation was successful, but left him lame and partly paralysed on his right side.<ref name=times/> He had long had [[bipolar disorder]] (in the parlance of the time he was "manic depressive")<ref>{{Cite OED|manic depression}}</ref> and after the operation he went through an intense manic phase of the illness, which lasted for nearly three years and was followed by a long spell of severe depression.<ref name=h99>Heyworth (1985), pp. 99–100</ref> In 1941, after he walked out of a mental [[sanatorium]] in [[Rye, New York]], the local police put out a bulletin, describing him as "dangerous and insane". He was found two days later in [[Morristown, New Jersey]] and appeared composed. A doctor who examined him said he was "temperamental and unstrung" but not dangerous, and he was released.<ref name=nyt/> The board of the Los Angeles Philharmonic terminated his contract, and his subsequent appearances were few, and seldom with prestigious ensembles, in Los Angeles or elsewhere.<ref name=nyt/> As her father struggled to support the family from his modest fees, Lotte worked in a factory to bring in some money.<ref>Schwarzkopf, p. 175</ref>

===Post-war===
[[File:Hungarian State Opera.jpg|The Hungarian State Opera, where Klemperer was musical director, 1947–1950|thumb|upright=1.25|alt=interior of ornate, traditional opera house, with much gilt and velvet]]
By 1946, Klemperer had recovered his health enough to return to Europe for a conducting tour. His first concert was in Stockholm, where he met the music scholar [[Aladár Tóth]], husband of the pianist [[Annie Fischer]]; Tóth was soon to be an important influence on his career.<ref name=h100>Heyworth (1985), pp. 100–101</ref> On another tour in 1947 Klemperer conducted ''The Marriage of Figaro'' at the Salzburg Festival and ''Don Giovanni'' in Vienna.<ref name=h100/> While he was in Salzburg, Tóth, who had been appointed director of the [[Hungarian State Opera House|Hungarian State Opera]] in Budapest, invited him to become the company's musical director. Klemperer accepted, and served from 1947 to 1950.<ref name=h100/> In Budapest he conducted the major [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]] operas and ''Fidelio'', ''[[Tannhäuser (opera)|Tannhäuser]]'', ''Lohengrin'' and ''[[Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg|Die Meistersinger]]'', as well as works from the Italian repertory, and many concerts.<ref>Schwarzkopf, p. 176</ref>

In March 1948, Klemperer made his first post-war appearance in London, conducting the [[Philharmonia Orchestra]].<ref>Pettitt, p. 36</ref> He conducted Bach's [[Orchestral suites (Bach)#Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068|Third Orchestral Suite]] from the [[harpsichord]], Stravinsky's [[Symphony in Three Movements]] and Beethoven's [[Symphony No. 3 (Beethoven)|''Eroica'' Symphony]].<ref>"Mr Otto Klemperer", ''The Times'', 6 March 1948, p. 2</ref>

Klemperer left the Budapest post in 1950, frustrated by the political interference of the communist regime.<ref name=h100/> He held no permanent conductorship for the next nine years. In the early 1950s he freelanced in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Britain, Canada, France, Germany and elsewhere.<ref name=h103>Heyworth (1985), p. 103</ref><ref>Potts, Joseph E. "Orchestral Concerts in Paris", ''[[The Musical Times]]'', October 1951, p. 446</ref> In London in 1951 he conducted two Philharmonia concerts at the new [[Royal Festival Hall]], eliciting high praise from reviewers.<ref>Pettitt, p. 45</ref> The music critic of ''The Times'' wrote:
{{blockindent|Rare indeed are the occasions when great music is allied to a performance that can claim to have taken its measure fully and unquestionably. Such an occasion was at the Festival Hall last night.&nbsp;... Mr. Klemperer's grasp of the music's innermost significance was evident from the perfect fusion which he achieved of its dramatic, epic, and lyrical elements. Here, indeed, is a musician whose emotional intensity is wonderfully matched by an impressive intellectual force – the very combination which the classical Beethoven demands of his interpreter.&nbsp;... Throughout the concert the orchestra met every demand of its inspired and inspiring conductor.<ref name=fm>"Festival Music", ''The Times'', 26 June 1951, p. 6</ref>{{refn|The first concert was all-Beethoven: the [[Egmont (Beethoven)|''Egmont'' Overture]], the [[Piano Concerto No. 5 (Beethoven)|''Emperor'' Concerto]], with [[Myra Hess]], and the [[Symphony No. 5 (Beethoven)|Fifth Symphony]]. The second concert had a mixed programme: [[William Walton|Walton's]] ''[[Scapino (Walton)|Scapino]]'', Beethoven's [[Piano Concerto No. 3 (Beethoven)|Third Piano Concerto]], with [[Solomon (pianist)|Solomon]], and Mozart's ''[[Serenade No. 6 (Mozart)|Serenata notturna]]'' and [[Symphony No. 41 (Mozart)|''Jupiter'' Symphony]].<ref name=fm/><ref>Schwarzkopf, p. 177</ref>|group=n}}|}}

After this, Klemperer's seemingly resurgent career received another severe set-back. At [[Montreal]] airport later in 1951 he slipped on ice and fell, breaking his hip. He was hospitalised for eight months.<ref name=h103/> Then for a year he and his family were, as he put it, virtually prisoners in the US because of obstacles to leaving the country, following [[Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952|new legislation]].<ref name=h103/> With the help of an accomplished lawyer, he secured temporary six-month passports in 1954, and moved with his wife and daughter to Switzerland.{{refn|His son, Werner, remained in the US, where he pursued a successful acting career, while remaining in close touch with his parents and sister, and visiting them in Europe.<ref>Heyworth (1996, Vol 2), pp. 258, 285, 359 and 363</ref>|group=n}} He settled in [[Zürich]], and obtained [[West Germany|German]] citizenship and right of residency in Switzerland.<ref name=h103/>

===London===
[[File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F001328-0007, Köln, WDR Rundfunkstudio.jpg|Klemperer, left, at a rehearsal in [[Cologne]] in 1954|thumb|upright=1.5|alt=elderly, clean-shaven white man in discussion with others]]
From the mid-1950s, Klemperer's domestic base was in Zürich and his musical base in London, where his career became associated with the Philharmonia. It was widely regarded as the best orchestra in Britain in the 1950s: ''[[Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians|Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians]]'' described it as "an elite whose virtuosity transformed British concert life", and ''The Times'' called it "the [[Rolls-Royce Limited|Rolls-Royce]] of British orchestras".<ref>[[William Mann (critic)|Mann, William]]. [https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-000001629 "Legge, Walter"], ''Grove Music Online'', Oxford University Press, 2001. {{subscription required}}</ref><ref>"Mr Walter Legge", ''The Times'', 16 November 1979, p. 29</ref> Its founder and proprietor, [[Walter Legge]], engaged a range of prominent conductors for his concerts. By the early 1950s the one most closely identified with the orchestra was [[Herbert von Karajan]],{{refn|Some mistakenly supposed Karajan to have been the orchestra's principal conductor,<ref>Rosenthal, Harold. "International Report", ''Musical America'', August 1956, p. 12; and Furlong, p. 72</ref> but from the outset Legge had resisted appointing one.<ref>Legge, Walter. "The birth of the Philharmonia", ''The Times'', 27 December 1975, p. 4</ref>|group=n|name=hk}} but he was clearly the heir apparent to the ailing Furtwängler as chief conductor of the [[Berlin Philharmonic]] and the Salzburg Festival;{{refn|Furtwängler died in November 1954, but protracted contractual negotiations meant that Karajan did not formally succeed him in Berlin and Salzburg until April 1956.<ref>Osborne, p. 372</ref>|group=n}} anticipating that Karajan would become unavailable to the Philharmonia, Legge built up a relationship with Klemperer, who was admired by the players, the critics and the public.<ref>Pettitt, p. 60</ref><ref>Previn, pp. 20, 159, 174 and 183</ref>

Legge was a senior producer for [[Columbia Graphophone Company|Columbia]], part of the [[EMI Classics|EMI]] recording group in the UK. As EMI paid for the rehearsals for recordings, Legge's concerts tended to feature works he had recorded immediately beforehand, so that the orchestra was fully rehearsed at no cost to him.{{refn|A typical example occurred in late 1956, when Legge scheduled three Brahms symphonies for recording by Klemperer and the Philharmonia days before their live performances of the same works at the Festival Hall, so that the rehearsals paid for by Columbia for the recording sessions were effectively free rehearsals for his concerts.<ref>Hunt and Pettitt, p. 299; and "Philharmonia Orchestra", ''The Times'', 29 September 1956, p. 2</ref>|group= n}} This suited Klemperer, who though he disliked making recordings enjoyed the luxury of "hav[ing] time to prepare a work properly".<ref>Heyworth (1985), p. 123</ref>

According to the critic [[William Mann (critic)|William Mann]], Klemperer's repertory by now was:
{{blockindent|no longer the challenging progressive one of his younger days, but centred firmly on the German classics and romantics from [[J. S. Bach|Bach]] to [[Richard Strauss]], with Beethoven as its centre and crown.&nbsp;... London heard the superb, heaven-storming Beethoven cycles conducted by Klemperer in the 1950s, a series memorable particularly for spacious, perfectly proportioned architecture, strength and intensity and inner radiance of sonority, majesty of line.<ref name=times/>|}}

In 1957, Legge launched the [[Philharmonia Chorus]], which made its debut in Beethoven's [[Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven)|Ninth Symphony]] conducted by Klemperer.<ref>Pettitt, p. 91</ref> In ''[[The Observer]]'' Heyworth wrote that with "what promises to be our best choir [and] our best orchestra and a great conductor", Legge had given London "a Beethoven cycle that any city in the world, be it Vienna or New York, would envy".<ref>Heyworth, Peter. "Klemperer and Beethoven", ''The Observer'', 17 November 1957, p. 14</ref>

Wieland Wagner invited Klemperer to conduct ''[[Tristan und Isolde]]'' at the 1959 [[Holland Festival]], and they agreed to collaborate on ''Die Meistersinger'' at Bayreuth, but neither plan was realised, because Klemperer suffered a further physical setback: in October 1958 while smoking in bed he set his bedclothes alight. His burns were life-threatening, and his recovery slow.<ref>Heyworth (1996, Vol 2), p. 274</ref> It was not for nearly a year, until September 1959, that he recovered his health enough to conduct again. On Klemperer's return to the Philharmonia, Legge stood before the orchestra and appointed him conductor for life – the Philharmonia's first principal conductor.<ref>Schwarzkopf, p. 187; and Pettitt, p. 96</ref>{{refn|group=n|name=hk}} Klemperer's concerts in the 1960s included more works from outside the core German repertory, including [[Béla Bartók|Bartók's]] [[Divertimento for String Orchestra (Bartók)|Divertimento]], and symphonies by [[Hector Berlioz|Berlioz]], [[Antonín Dvořák|Dvořák]], Mahler and [[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky|Tchaikovsky]].<ref name=times/>

Klemperer returned to opera in 1961, making his [[The Royal Opera|Covent Garden]] début in ''Fidelio'' for which he directed the staging as well as the music. He had to a considerable extent moved away from the experimental stagings of the Kroll years; the 1961 ''Fidelio'' was described as "traditional, unfussy, grandly conceived, and profoundly revealing",<ref name=times/> and of "deep serenity" musically.<ref>Haltrecht, p. 249</ref> Klemperer directed and conducted another ''Fidelio'' in Zürich the following year, at the [[Zürich Opera House|opera house]], only a few hundred yards from his home. He battled with entrenched interests in the Zürich orchestra to secure the best players, but he succeeded and the performances were well received.<ref>Heyworth (1996, Vol 2), p. 293</ref> At Covent Garden he later directed and conducted two more new productions: ''[[The Magic Flute|Die Zauberflöte]]'' (1962), and ''Lohengrin'' (1963), neither of which was as well reviewed as ''Fidelio''.<ref>Haltrecht, p. 252</ref>

===Later years===
During the early 1960s Legge became disenchanted with the orchestral music scene. His freedom to programme what he pleased was hampered by new committees at the Festival Hall and EMI,<ref>Schwarzkopf, pp. 83 and 105–106</ref> and his orchestra was less in demand in the studios.<ref>Schwarzkopf, p. 104</ref> In March 1964, with no advance warning to the orchestra, he issued a press statement announcing that "after the fulfilment of its present commitments the activities of the Philharmonia Orchestra will be suspended for an indefinite period."<ref>"Philharmonia Suspended", ''The Times'', 11 March 1964, p. 12</ref> Klemperer said that Legge had not warned him beforehand of the announcement, although Legge later maintained that he had done so.<ref>Pettitt, p. 124</ref> With Klemperer's strong support the players refused to be disbanded and formed themselves into a self-governing ensemble as the New Philharmonia Orchestra (NPO).<ref>Previn, p. 102</ref> They elected him as their president. He remained in the position until his retirement eight years later.<ref name=grove/>
[[File:Klemperer-programme-final-concert.jpg|Programme for Klemperer's last concert, 1971|thumb|upright=1.2|alt=printed programme with no graphics, stating venue, date and programme]]
In his later years Klemperer returned to the Jewish faith, and was a strong supporter of the state of Israel. He visited his younger sister, who lived there,<ref>Schwarzkopf, p. 190</ref> and while in Jerusalem in 1970 he accepted the offer of Israeli citizenship, though continuing to retain his German citizenship and permanent Swiss residency.<ref>Heyworth (1996, Vol 2), p. 315</ref>

As Klemperer aged, his concentration and control of the orchestra declined. At one recording session he dozed off while conducting,<ref name=p159/> and he found his hearing and eyesight under strain from concentrating for the length of a concert.<ref name =stand/> One of his players told [[André Previn]], "Sadly, he got a bit deaf and shaky. You'd be thinking 'poor old Klemperer', then suddenly the veil of infirmity would drop and he'd be wonderfully vigorous again."<ref name=p159>Previn, p. 159</ref> Klemperer continued to conduct and record with the New Philharmonia until the last concert of his career – at the Festival Hall on 26 September 1971 – and his final recording session two days later. The programme for the concert was Beethoven's [[King Stephen (Beethoven)|''King Stephen'' overture]], and [[Piano Concerto No. 4 (Beethoven)|Fourth Piano Concerto]], with [[Daniel Adni]] as soloist, and Brahms's [[Symphony No. 3 (Brahms)|Third Symphony]]. The recording, with the orchestra's wind players, was of Mozart's [[Serenade No. 11 (Mozart)|Serenade No. 11 in E flat]], K. 375.<ref>Heyworth (1996, Vol 2), p. 452</ref>

The following January, after flying from Zürich to London to conduct Bruckner's Seventh Symphony, Klemperer announced the day before the concert that he could no longer cope with the strain of public performances.<ref name=stand>"Klemperer stands down", ''The Times'', 21 January 1971, p. 8</ref>{{refn|The concert went ahead; [[Charles Groves]] deputised for Klemperer.<ref name=stand/>|group=n}} He hoped to be able to go on making recordings, as he felt he might be able to manage the shorter spans of recording takes, and intended to conduct Mozart's ''[[Die Entführung aus dem Serail]]'' and Bach's ''[[St John Passion]]'' for EMI, but neither plan came to fruition.<ref>Heyworth (1996, Vol 2), p. 358</ref>

[[File:Klemperers Grab.JPG|thumb|upright|The grave in December 2009.]]
Heyworth writes about the conductor's last years:
{{blockindent|During his time with the orchestra Klemperer won the affection of the players to a degree unprecedented in his career. The ready wit that lurked behind his forbidding exterior gave much pleasure. After a ragged entry during a rehearsal of Beethoven's [[Symphony No. 8 (Beethoven)|Eighth Symphony]], the principal cellist asked for "a clear beat at this point and we will get it together for the first time in musical history". "In ''British'' musical history", retorted Klemperer.<ref name=grove/>|}}

Klemperer retired to his home in Zürich, where he died in his sleep on 6 July 1973. His wife predeceased him and he was survived by their two children. He was buried in the Jewish cemetery at [[Friesenberg]], Zürich, four days later.<ref>Heyworth (1996, Vol 2), pp. 362–363</ref>