Otto Klemperer's Long Journey Through His Times

One evening in 1933, Otto Klemperer arrived at a concert hall, conducted his orchestra as usual — and then informed the stunned musicians that he would be leaving Germany that night. He fled to the United States and continued to live a life full of upheaval and wandering, suffering from physical disabilities and mental difficulties, all while being recognized as one of the greatest conductors of all time. Using archival footage and images from Klemperer’s personal album, as well as those of friends and musicians, this film follows Klemperer’s fascinating career, which began after he met Gustav Mahler and gained the composer’s admiration. When the Nazis took power, Klemperer converted to Catholicism in hopes of surviving. In his later years, Klemperer returned to the Jewish faith, visited Israel and sought to conduct the philharmonic but was refused on the grounds that his partial paralysis affected his conducting. Klemperer turned to the Kol Israel Orchestra (now the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra), which was considered less successful, but under his baton reached impressive and surprising heights.