“..in feeling and momentary presence, Kletzki is hard to excel.” – Gramophone, July 1958.

Paul Kletzki (1900-1973) was a Polish conductor and composer. He first joined the Lodz Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of fifteen, and after serving in the First World War, studied philosophy at the University of Warsaw. During the 1920s his compositions were championed by Toscanini and Furtwängler, who invited Kletzki to conduct the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in 1925. In the second half of the twentieth century, Kletzki was a renowned conductor, especially of Mahler. In 1954 he was appointed chief conductor of the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. Between 1958 and 1961, he was principal conductor of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and from 1966 to 1970, he was the General Music Director of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. He made many recordings for EMI with the Philharmonia Orchestra during the 1950s and 1960s.

Emmy Loose (1914-1987) was an Austrian operatic soprano of Czech birth, particularly associated with soubrette roles.

Recorded April and July 1957, Kingsway Hall, London. Producer: Victor Olof, Engineer: Douglas Larter

Cut at Abbey Road Studios from the original stereo analogue master tapes with the Neumann VMS82 lathe fed an analogue pre-cut signal from a specially adapted Studer A80 tape deck with additional ‘advance’ playback head, making the cut a totally analogue process. Pressed on 180g vinyl to audiophile standards using the original EMI presses by The Vinyl Factory in Hayes, England. Featuring the original album artwork.

In the review of the mono LP in The Gramophone of July 1958, W.M. confirmed that: “Kletzki has the best soprano of all. Emmy Loose treats the song tenderly, most musically, and with exactly the right kind of voice…The sound of the recording is good and rangy…” …”