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Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/Otto Klemperer/archive1

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The following is an archived discussion of a featured article nomination. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the article's talk page or in Wikipedia talk:Featured article candidates. No further edits should be made to this page.

The article was promoted by Gog the Mild via FACBot (talk) 15 March 2023 [1].

Otto Klemperer edit

Nominator(s): Tim riley talk 21:20, 22 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

This article is about a German conductor, famous for his interpretations of Beethoven and other German composers. He battled against continual setbacks, including a brain tumour, bipolar disorder and multiple burns, and was regarded in the 1950s to the 1970s as the most authoritative conductor of the German classical repertory. I had the luck, as a young man, half a century ago, to go to his last concerts, and I hope I have done him justice in the article as it now stands. Tim riley talk 21:20, 22 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Comments by Wehwalt edit

  • Much of the matter regarding dates of citizenship in the info box is not well-sourced in the article. His citizenship situation is a bit glossed-over in the article, especially in the 1930s.
  • I can't be more specific, I'm afraid. The main source (the Heyworth two-volume biography) states that the Nazis deprived Jews of their German citizenship in 1935, and I cannot find any reference to the legal status of his citizenship of anywhere until 1940 when he became a US citizen. Tim riley talk 09:05, 23 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
  • "The board of the Los Angeles orchestra terminated his contract, and his subsequent appearances were few, and seldom with prestigious ensembles.[21]" I take it that subsequent appearances refers to in Los Angeles? I might add a "there" or "with it" following "appearances" if so.
  • No, I mean appearances anywhere. I've redrawn to make that clear. Tim riley talk 09:05, 23 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
  • It's not really made clear where he was living at and after the time of his termination by Los Angeles, and on what, leaving aside his daughter's factory earnings.
  • He remained mostly based in Los Angeles, with a period spent in New York. His fees for conducting the minor ensembles who offered him work were small, but he could afford to live, very modestly. Tim riley talk 09:05, 23 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
  • You title The Marriage of Figaro both in English and Italian at different points.
  • "he accepted the offer of Israeli citizenship". Is that a special offer made by the government or is it the standard offer of citizenship open to anyone that Israel recognises as a Jew and who cares to meet the requirements for Israeli citizenship? Had he not been a famous conductor, he might have run afoul of the Brother Daniel decision. Also, I note a number of AP stories from August 5, 1970 that mention this, and it states he plans to reside in Tel Aviv, for example here. Anything come of that?
  • It was a personal offer made by the Israeli government. It caused some difficulty with the West German government. This is from Heyworth:
Some weeks later the West German consulate in Zurich wrote to warn Klemperer that if, as the Jewish Chronicle in London had claimed, he himself had asked for Israeli citizenship, he had offended against German regulations and should forfeit his German passport. The storm eventually blew over after the Israeli government provided a document certifying that the passport had been issued under the Return Law, which for undivulged reasons obviated any expression of intention on Klemperer's part.
There is no suggestion I can find that Klemperer contemplated living in Israel. Tim riley talk 09:05, 23 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
  • That brief squib of an article also says he had Swiss citizenship. They get it wrong?
  • They did. He had right of residency in Switzerland, but was not a Swiss citizen. Tim riley talk 09:05, 23 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
  • Footnote 1. It's really more about pronunciation than spelling (which would be in Hebrew characters anyway). Both groups would spell it (in Hebrew) the same, they would just pronounce it differently. That's probably more than you want to know about this. Suggest the links be pipes to Ashkenazi Hebrew and Sephardi Hebrew and suggest you state "rendering" rather than "spelling".
  • Could we have a little more on his personal life?
  • When in the manic phases of his illness, Klemperer developed passionate, not to say obsessive, feelings for a number of women over the years. I could add a line to that effect, but to my mind it borders on tittle-tattle, though I am not implacably opposed to mentioning it. He remained devoted to his wife and family. Tim riley talk 09:05, 23 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
That's it. Enjoyable read.--Wehwalt (talk) 23:05, 22 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for these helpful points, Wehwalt. All addressed − satisfactorily, I hope. Tim riley talk 09:05, 23 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Support Wehwalt (talk) 17:14, 23 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]


Image review edit

  • File:C_1920_Otto_Klemperer.jpg: when and where was this first published?
  • I don't know. Do we need a publication date for a picture from the Bain collection? I thought they were public domain. Tim riley talk 09:05, 23 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
  • With the current tagging you would, but I think you want PD-Bain instead? Nikkimaria (talk) 04:29, 24 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
  • File:Otto_Klemperer_by_Soshana.jpg is missing a tag for the original work. Nikkimaria (talk) 04:03, 23 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
  • I can't provide one. Does that mean I should delete the photo? Tim riley talk 09:05, 23 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
  • Deleted from the article. Does your advice, above, mean we should take steps to have the file removed from Commons? Tim riley talk 08:46, 24 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
  • That's not a requirement from the perspective of this FAC since the image is no longer in the article. If you'd want to pursue it otherwise, go ahead. Nikkimaria (talk) 01:01, 25 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

As ever, Nikkimaria, thank you for the review and helpful advice. Tim riley talk 08:46, 24 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Comments and support from Gerda edit

Interested in the topic, I'll take a look, skipping lead and infobox for now. I have the feeling that music-related facts would interest me more than the details of citizenship, which possibly could be summarized as German, American and Israeli. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 15:24, 25 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

All comments are just suggestions.

Early years

  • "production of Orpheus in the Underworld at the New Theatre, Berlin" - I bet the performance was in German, and would prefer the German title Orpheus in der Unterwelt, and - anyway - to add "Offenbach's" - as we do have readers unfamiliar with such titles in whatever language.
    • I think you are probably correct that it was given in German, but if I understand the MoS aright we should give operas etc the title by which they are best known in English usage. My personal preference would be to use the title of the original language - Orphée aux enfers, Le nozze di Figaro etc, but I think I must follow the WP formulas. Tim riley talk 16:27, 25 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
      We are not slaves of the MoS ;) - I would always use the original title for a premiere, and most often use the title used for a performance, which will mentioned in reviews, for example. I would always add the last name of the composer, as we write for a broad audience, readers who'd rather know Offenbach than any of the titles. --GA

Germany

  • "She was a Christian; he converted from Judaism. He remained a practising Roman Catholic until 1967, when he left the faith." - I suggest: "She was a Catholic; he converted from Judaism, and remained a practising church member until 1967." (thinking that faith is something personal that only he really knew)
    • Joanna was a Protestant before marrying Klemperer. I cannot be certain whether she too converted to Roman Catholicism, though I think she probably did. Why, if so, I cannot comment on. Tim riley talk 16:27, 25 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
      That is more complex than I thought, sorry. The German article has nothing about her religion. --GA
  • why "modernistic" vs. modern?
    • There is a great difference. Modern just means new (though quite possibly traditional in style), but modernistic, according to the OED, denotes "Any of various movements in art, architecture, literature, etc., generally characterized by a deliberate break with classical and traditional forms or methods of expression; the work or ideas of the adherents of such a movement". Tim riley talk 16:27, 25 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
      Thank you for explaining, and it seems different from German, where "modernistisch" has a negative connotation. --GA
  • "from The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, Fidelio and Lohengrin to Elektra and The Soldier's Tale" - I suggest to add the composers: from Mozarts Figaro and Don Giovanni, Beethoven's Fidelio and Wagner's Lohengrin to Elektra by Richard Strauss and Stravinsky's Die Geschichte vom Soldaten. I wonder if there could be a hint at the fact that the last two works were really young then.
    • I don't think readers of an article about a conductor will need to be told who composed Figaro, and the blue link will provide the information for any who need it. It is to distinguish between the established classics and the modernistic works that I have put the Strauss and Stravinsky works after the "to", but I am reluctant to impose an editorial comment about their modernity. Tim riley talk 16:27, 25 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
      As said before, I would write for readers who may not know Figaro and Fidelio at all but may have heard of Mozart and Beethoven, giving them a clue about the period, especially when none of the works matters (no review, no director, no singers), but the broadness of repertoire.

I got to the Holländer at the Kroll Opera, no comments but I made some suggested changes that you can easily revert if not convinced. - Real life calling. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 16:08, 25 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I have cleaned up after your alterations. It took some time, and it would be helpful if you suggested here any further changes that take your fancy. Tim riley talk 16:58, 25 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Berlin

  • In the long list of works at the Kroll Opera, I'd not link the composers, to avoid a sea of blue: whoever doesn't know Hindemith can be sure to find him when looking at Cardillac. The composer of Erwartung was Schönberg, - he used Schoenberg only later. (I happened to see Das Leben des Orest last year, but missed then that Klemperer conducted the premiere, - nice to know.)
    • Our WP article on Schoenberg uses that spelling throughout. Many, perhaps most, readers of this article will not know that he dropped the umlaut when he settled in America; it would be unreasonably confusing to spell his name two different ways here, and "oe" for "ö" in German names is not incorrect in English usage: as early as 1885 the Court Circular in The Times referred to "The Count Erbach of Erbach-Schoenberg", and the composer was printed as "Arnold Schoenberg" from 1912 onwards. It was not that umlauts were unavailable for compositors and editors: Marie Löhr was given hers from 1902. As to removing the links from what I agree is a sea of blue, if I take them out you may be perfectly certain that someone else will put them back again. Tim riley talk 09:06, 26 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
      I understand the umlaut concern, and while I observe that some editors are picky on such things as the historic precision of diacritics, I'm not one of them. - If "someone else will put them back again" I'm perfectly willing to restore the version without. --GA
  • Is the image of the Kroll Opera really the best image of places where he worked? Wiesbaden File:Staatstheater Wiesbaden Zuschauersaa012.JPG - It's sad that all interior images of the Kroll we have are Nazi pics.
    • The picture of the Wiesbaden house is splendid, but looks like a dozen other opera houses: the Kroll is a little more distinctive, and the photograph comes from Klemperer's time there. Tim riley talk 09:06, 26 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
      "from his time" is a good point --GA
  • Bruckner's Eighth - again I wouldn't link the composer.
    • We must agree to differ. The MoS rules appear clear to me. Tim riley talk 09:06, 26 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
  • "where with such conductors as Bruno Walter, Wilhelm Furtwängler and Leo Blech already established, there was little important work for him" - I stumbled over "where with such" and would probably get the fact first and the reason afterwards, but that may be just me.

Los Angeles

  • both Stravinsky and Schoenberg were linked before (in the present version), intentionally?
    • Strangely the "highlight duplicate links" tool missed the duplicate link to Stravinsky (perhaps because it is in a quote rather than in the main text). The second link to Schoenberg is in a caption, and is par for the course. 09:06, 26 February 2023 (UTC)
  • I looked at the image caption first and got the impression that Klemperer did not programme Schoenberg (not at all), and then was corrected by Gurrelieder, a giant work. I suggest to trim the caption to simply teaching, not grumbling ;)
  • Done.
  • I wonder if the musicologist's "penetratingly" comment might be better in the composition section.
    • I wondered about this while drafting the article, and am still undecided. I think I shall leave it in situ for now and see if any other reviewers express a view. Tim riley talk 09:06, 26 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
  • "but realised that 'after this affair of the Mahler symphony I wouldn't be engaged again'" - I'm no friend of quotes that switch within a sentence from third person to first person, and would write "but realised that 'after this affair of the Mahler symphony' he wouldn't be engaged again".
    • Doesn't strike me as an improvement, but harmless enough and done. Tim riley talk 09:06, 26 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
  • "little-known John Barbirolli" - then little-known perhaps

1938 to 1945

  • "but left him lame and partly paralysed on his right side" - in German we have only one word for lame and paralysed, what's the difference?
  • Lame refers only to the legs. Klemperer's right arm was also affected. Tim riley talk 09:06, 26 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
  • "As her father struggled to support the family from his modest fees, Lotte worked in a factory to bring in some money" - I struggled to remember what "her" meant, - would it be bad English to say that his daughter Lotte worked ... as her father ...?
  • We have already said that she was his daughter. Tim riley talk 09:06, 26 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Post-war

  • Was the image of the Hungarian Opera chosen to express the darkness there? File:Hungarian State Opera.jpg?
    • That is preferable, I think, and now in place. Tim riley talk 09:06, 26 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
  • Aladár Tóth - that one?
    • I assume so. I cannot read Hungarian, but if you are satisfied that this is the same man, by all means add the link. Tim riley talk 09:06, 26 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
      If that is the right person, I'll think about writing at east a stub in English. --GA
  • Mozart operas: Mozart was linked before, but List of Mozart operas might be a better link
    • I cannot find an earlier link to Mozart in the main text. Tim riley talk 09:06, 26 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
      Please excuse my bad memory, I had forgotten that it was in the lead. I still believe that those "readers of a conductor's article" who know that Figaro is by Mozart won't need a link to him, at all ;) --GA
  • Thank you for the substantial review in London. Do we know what was played, besides "Beethoven"?
    • Nothing. It was an all-Beethoven concert: Egmont Ov, PC 5 with Myra Hess, and Symphony 5. I have added a note about the programme of that and the second concert. Tim riley talk 09:06, 26 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
      thank you! --GA

London

  • Do we need two descriptions of the Philharmonia when we have an article? Rolls-Royce is funny but what does it tell us about Klemperer?
    • Rolls-Royce is not intended to be funny. It is a standard – perhaps clichéd – image for anything of the very highest excellence. The OED says it denotes "Any product considered to be the highest quality or best example of its type or field". The superb playing of the Philharmonia was key to making Klemperer's (and in the early 50s Karajan's) recordings sell so well. Klemperer's recordings with less prestigious orchestras such as the Vienna Symphony were well-reviewed but did not sell anything like as well.
      If the hint at high class connected to selling well is intended, fine. I missed it, though, but possibly just me again. --GA
  • I am surprised that Mahler's Second has just a number, while Beethoven's Ninth is named Choral Symphony (and I first confused it with his Choral Fantasy.

Later years

  • Could the younger sister perhaps be introduced in the beginning, when it was open how many sisters he had, just an older one for sure?

I read until his death, and don't know when I'll get to the rest, having to travel for a sad reason. Thank you already for an enlightening article. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 21:30, 25 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Returned from a funeral: thank you for your replies and changes. All understood even when I made no extra note. I'll probably continue reading tomorrow, as a RD (recent death) article is waiting, and I have rehearsal tonight. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 16:47, 28 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Composition

  • I assume that his early "songs" where of the lied genre.
  • Critical comments of his compositions are the best in the article, better than those of conducting and recording!

Recordings

I looked at the Main article, and think it would profit a lot of links to the pieces: better a link to a particular symphony than key and Op. number, - this is not relevant to the FAC, but by the time he'll appear as TFA it should change. Some recordings are listed in greater detail in opera discographies, and perhaps a link could go there for details such as soloists in roles. Touching that Schwarzkopf was First Lady, but a reader who never heard her name will not be impressed.

I have much work to do on the discography article, and will attend to it as soon as I can. Tim riley talk 18:42, 3 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Now back to the conductor article:

  • General: I wonder if Bruckner's Eighth should be linked, for example, - yes it was linked further up, but I can see readers jump to recordings without reading it all sequentially. (I would perhaps not say so if it was at least linked in the discography.)
    • I shouldn't for my own part object to a second link, despite WP:OVERLINK, and if you want to add one, I'd suggest you go ahead. Tim riley talk 18:42, 3 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]
      done ---GA
  • General: lists of soloists name remain pretty meaningless name-calling if not assigned roles, or at least a piece.
    • Point taken, but the list of soloists is intended to illustrate the class of artists who sang in his recordings, and is not meant to précis the recorded oeuvre. Tim riley talk 18:42, 3 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]
  • For personal sentimentality: Can we perhaps include Kathleen Ferrier's Mahler?


Honours

Reputation

  • I had to search backwards for who Mann was, but others may have a better memory.
    • Again, the rule against repeated links is not always advantageous. Tim riley talk 18:42, 3 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]
  • Missa solemnis before, Missa solemnis here, - I think the former is better.
  • I love the conclusion with Beethoven praise!

Lead

  • "was a 20th-century conductor" - born 1985, do we really need "20th-century"?
    • I'd have no strong objection to trimming: please feel free. Tim riley talk 18:42, 3 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]
      done ---GA
  • "A protégé of the composer Gustav Mahler" - for his conducting career, the conductor Mahler was likely more important; we could have both functions, or none as he seems rather well-known now.
    • Better to mention both capacities, I think. Done. Tim riley talk 18:42, 3 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]
  • brain tumor: I wonder if this particular medical problem might be shortened, and rather other such setbacks be added to a summary of how ill health hit him but he resurfaced again and again.
    • His dreadful history of health calamities seems to me to need a little detail in the lead. Tim riley talk 18:42, 3 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]
  • Last sentence: I think Mozart has undue weight by length and final position, and would prefer a wording that ends on Beethoven, as the article does.

Infobox

  • After having read the article, I believe the citizenship is of minor importance. Perhaps Israeli could be dropped at all, as more honorary, without residency there. The others could go without the years.
    • I really don't know what to say on this point. I'd be glad if other reviewers expressed a view. Tim riley talk 18:42, 3 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]
  • What I miss is a list of organisations he worked for, the major opera houses and orchestras - for much more music ;)
    • Sorry you think that. I thought I'd covered the major ones of his long career. Tim riley talk
      I'll perhaps get back to that topic when I'm less busy, see above. ---Gerda Arendt (talk) 19:10, 3 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]
      still busy (with his wife, among other topics) but trying to clarify: for a reader who knows nothing when arriving at the article, the exact details of citizenship seem less important than "making some music" in paragraph organizations, such as key assignments of his career, with the number of them listed depending on the wanted degree of detail, my suggestion: (Prussian State Theatre Wiesbaden ·) Kroll Opera · Los Angeles Philharmonic (· Hungarian State Opera ·) Philharmonia Orchestra. This would also add the precision of Los Angeles vs. just US. I expect that some readers would immediately connect a location with the Kroll Opera and the Philharmonia, and could see these key places in the ibox sooner than in the lead, and get interested to find out more detail about someone at an avantgarde theatre and a high-class orchestra, - more interested I think than just reading someone worked in three countries. Please compare his wife's article, where I tried to pick her most relevant stations of work among the many. Yesterday I began reading the Heyworth bio, - great reading! I wonder if the order of conversion and marriage should be changed, as in the bio. First he converted, then came more closeness to her (her visit in Maria Laach) and the wedding, after for about two years they had been more or less been people working together. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 08:18, 10 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]
      • ALtered sentence about conversion/marriage. The info about appointments is adequately summarised in the lead, in my view. Tim riley talk 08:57, 10 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]
        Thank you for the change. I agree that the stations of his career are summarised in the lead, although they miss where he liked it best ;) - Only: they don't show in the infobox, where I think a number of our reader will look first. Even if no stations there, I'd remove the years from the citizenships, as undue detail, but you decide. - I fixed indenting again. Did you read the essay? Nutshell: when replying to a thread, keep what was there before and add one, for accessibility. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 09:17, 10 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Regardless of what you think of these suggestions, I support the article for our highest quality. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 18:39, 1 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you for your support. Tim riley talk 18:42, 3 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Having read more about his wife, I have a few more questions:

  • "She retired from singing in the mid-1930s." I can't access Heyworth vol 2, but Großes Sängerlexikon notes a vocal crisis (after 1928), and several agree that her singing career was over when they left Germany in 1933 the latest. - If your sources have records of her appearing after 1928, I'd be grateful if you could add them to her article.
  • I believe that mentioning the world premieres of Die tote Stadt and Der Zwerg would actually be more related to his career than whichever years his wife stopped singing on stage, and Marietta, a role she created, would tell those who know the opera in one word what she was able to do.
  • If you know which other operas Klemperer conducted in Cologne, it might give a clue for the role pictured, possibly in 1922. It doesn't look (to me) like any of the ones already mentioned, unless perhaps Despina. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 11:35, 14 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]
  • Berlin (next header) is also a German opera house, - I suggest to name the houses in the header, instead of "German opera houses". --Gerda Arendt (talk) 11:35, 14 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]
  • I'll need to research the points about Frau Klemperer further, and I suggest we continue that discussion on the article talk page, to avoid clogging up this FAC. Tim riley talk 18:33, 15 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Commments by Dudley edit

  • I find your comments on Klemperer's Judaism confusing. In the lead you do not mention it, although it seems relevant to his decision to leave Germany on the rise of Nazism. You mention in a note the Sephardi version of his name and in the main text that the family name was changed in response to a decree aimed at Jewish assimilation, but you do not say that they were Jewish. The note and the statement that Ida was Sephardi imply that the father was Ashkenazi, but he had the Sephardi form of the name. If they were both Sephardi why did they give their son the Ashkenazi form of the name? Maybe I have muddled it up but it seems unclear.
  • "She was a Christian; he converted from Judaism.[20] He remained a practising Roman Catholic until 1967, when he left the faith." I read this at first that he converted her to Christianity until I looked more closely and noticed the semi-colon. Also I would spell out that he did not just leave the faith but returned to Judaism.
  • "He was sounded out by an American visitor influential in music in the US" Is the visitor's name not known?
  • Redrawn to include the name. (Mentioned later in the former version, but now moved up.) Tim riley talk
  • "Then for a year he and his family were, as he put it, virtually prisoners in the US because of new legislation.[60] He had taken American citizenship in 1940 and held an American passport since then; under the new law the authorities refused to renew his and his family's passports." I am not sure whether this is misleading. According to [2] he was refused a passport because of his left-wing views. According to Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 it prevented him travelling without a passport (rather than allowing the authorities to refuse to renew it).
  • The source is unequivocal: "The Americans refused to renew our passports on account of the McCarren/Walter bill, and for a year I was virtually a prisoner". As to his political views, I suppose working even as a musician in communist Hungary might have made him anathema to the more rabid McCarthyites, but the responsible official in Washington recorded that Klemperer was "clear from a security standpoint". He had political views, but Heyworth describes them as of minor importance compared to his artistic principles: for instance he conducted the memorial concert in Amsterdam for the conductor Willem Mengelberg – whom he revered as a major champion of Mahler's music – despite the fact that Mengelberg was disgraced and exiled for his collaboration with the Nazis: "Once more, Klemperer's artistic allegiances had taken precedence over political issues", says Heyworth. Tim riley talk
  • Hmm. I am not convinced. "on account of the McCarren/Walter bill" is different from "under the new law", the wording in the Wiki article. "on account of" could mean that as the law forbade people travelling abroad without passports, it gave the McCarthyites the chance to stop people they disliked from travelling, not that it gave them a new power to withdraw passports, which is what the Wiki article says. "under the law" does not make sense if he was clear from a security standpoint. Ha. I am winning the battle to be the most pedantic!!! Dudley Miles (talk) 13:58, 26 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
  • "Winning the battle to be the most pedantic", forsooth! See here, and try out-pedanting me! But as to the Klemperer article I'll re-examine the sources carefully, review the wording and report back here. Tim riley talk 14:12, 26 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
  • This is another first-rate article, although it does seem to me not a fully rounded picture. It has nothing on his political views even though they were significant enough to get him in trouble with the American authorities and it gives the birth and death dates of his siblings but not his children. His wife's death is only mentioned in the infobox. Dudley Miles (talk) 11:22, 26 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
  • I think I may be sailing close to the wind by including the dates of the siblings: I believe we are discouraged from adding people's dates to the text, though I should be delighted to learn that I am under a misapprehension. I've added a line about his wife's death. Thank you for your comments, Dudley: I think the text is the better for them. Tim riley talk 12:49, 26 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support. As I wrote above a first rate article, although as I also wrote above I do think a few extra details would give a fuller picture of his character. I would put the horsewhip and Schumann affair in the main text. I would also add a sentence about his politics and that they were of minor importance, citing Mengelberg memorial. Dudley Miles (talk) 21:42, 27 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

SC edit

Putting down a marker: will be along shortly. - SchroCat (talk) 17:30, 27 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

  • I've made a few minor tweaks that should be uncontroversial, but feel free to revert if you disagree with them.

Support. I had my say at PR, and the article has been strengthened since then. - SchroCat (talk) 20:13, 27 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Ian edit

Recusing coord duties to show up after the hard work is done, but I did read through the whole thing for the first time since I looked it over at PR, and have nothing to complain about. I'll just reserve final judgement until after a source review is in (will add a request for that at WT:FAC)... Cheers, Ian Rose (talk) 13:41, 6 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Such quick service with the SR from SN -- support. Cheers, Ian Rose (talk) 14:59, 7 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you, Ian, for support here and input at PR. Tim riley talk 17:40, 7 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Source review edit

[In progress] SN54129 13:55, 6 March 2023 (UTC) This version reviewed.[reply]

  • I wonder what year your OED reference is from?
  • No idea. The current one, doubtless, but Wikipedia's OED template doesn't specify. Tim riley talk 15:33, 6 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]
  • A couple of chapters (Keene, Keller) need pp ranges for chapters.
  • I don't usually add page ranges for chapters. It seems to me muddling to do that and then also provide the actual page numbers of the relevant citations. Tim riley talk 15:33, 6 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]
  • Reid, unless a repr., is too early to have an ISBN; WorldCat will provide an OCLC.
  • I hadn't spotted that the Reid biography (a school prize circa 1968 in the case of my copy) was reprinted in the 1970s. (And I'm glad it was, because a later biography of Sargent by one Richard Aldous was ... well, well, perhaps I'd better leave the sentence unfinished.) You're right that an oclc is wanted here. Done. Tim riley talk 15:33, 6 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]
  • Not Sackville before Schwarzkopf?
  • On reflection I think you're right: one gets infected by the barminess of the ODNB which insists that Sackville-West comes under W, not S, but it is wrong and you are right, I think. Moved. Tim riley talk 15:33, 6 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]
  • Nitpicking to buggery, but your ISBNs are formatted in several ways.
  • Are they? I can't see anything wrong. Am looking straight through something obvious? I think I copied and pasted most of the ISBNs from WorldCat. Can you give me an example of what you boggle at? Tim riley talk 15:33, 6 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]
  • Brain catching up with fingers: not WorldCat, which doesn't believe in hyphens, but from this ISBN machine. Tim riley talk 15:36, 6 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Overall
  • Apart from the formatting nitpicks, the sources themselves are of the highest quality, as one would expect from subject experts and reputable publishers alike, which comprise the sources used.
  • A search of the relevant databases reveals no significant works that one would expect to find in a comprehensive biography of the topic (even Chichton's obit. spans less than 2 pages, for example), as much of that which is unused are reviews of his pieces rather than of the man himself. Conversely, nothing has been used that would appear overly tangential. You might, perhaps, find something relevant in the selection of newspaper cuttings you link to in 'External links#; the odd primary source is acceptable, of course.
    A good read—thanks. SN54129 14:31, 6 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]
  • SN 54129, thank you for the review. I've gone through the text once more and I think I've answered your points. See what you think. Tim riley talk 15:55, 6 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]
  • My dear fellow, all is well. Interesting about Sackville—it never occurred to me that the W would take precedence! All else is minutiae, so obvs, passing source review. Over to Ian, then to reign terror and destruction! Again, nice article! SN54129 16:42, 6 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]
  • The notion of Ian reigning terror is approximately as likely as the Dalai Lama doing so. Over to him − Ian, I mean, not His Holiness − for comments. Tim riley talk 20:24, 6 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]
  • How would Wilde have put it? "There is only one thing in the world worse than having a reputation [good or ill...!] and that is not having a reputation"...? Cheers, Ian Rose (talk) 14:55, 7 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Support from Jim edit

This has been picked over by those far more expert than I, so the following comments are more to show I've read it than reflecting any real concerns Jimfbleak - talk to me? 07:22, 10 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

  • Lotte Lehmann and Elisabeth Schumann— perhaps precede with "sopranos"?
  • Sanatorium—maybe a link for this increasing obscure word?
  • He settled in Zürich, and obtained German citizenship and right of residency in Switzerland—what's the relevance of German citizenship to being able to live in Switzerland?
  • None, I think. It isn't clear from the sources why OK took German citizenship. I'm guessing that having been born German he wished to resume that nationality, despite having his main home in Switzerland, but I don't honestly know. Tim riley talk 08:57, 10 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]
  • Thank you, Jim, for support and suggestions. Tweaks duly twuck. Tim riley talk 08:57, 10 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]


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