You were an associate, friend and disciple of Gustav Mahler. You championed new works by Schoenberg, Stravinsky and Hindemith. You tolerated no coughing or sneezing from your audience. You suffered from severe cyclothymic bipolar disorder. You answered the door to your dressing room in your boxers and covered in lipstick. You underwent surgery to remove a brain tumor “the size of a small orange.” When placed in an institution, you escaped. You took a severe spill, requiring you to conduct from a chair. You set yourself on fire and tried to douse the flames with spirits of camphor. You sired Colonel Klink. Your career was capped by a glorious Indian Summer that spanned 20 years. You lived to the ripe old age of 88. In short, you had all the qualifications to be one of the 20th century’s greatest conductors.

Happy birthday, Otto Klemperer (1885-1973).

Klemperer conducts Schumann in Philadelphia:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ua_m6mMhfuc

Fascinating Klemperer interview:

This guy loves Klemperer:

http://www.morethanthenotes.com/read-the-book/otto-klemperer

PHOTO: Otto the Indestructible