Talk:Carlos Kleiber

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[edit] Recordings

This is just a note to any music lovers who happen to come here. If you haven't heard Carlos Kleiber's recording of the Beethoven Fifth Symphony, do not miss it. When I first heard it, I was astonished, and I have heard at least 75 recordings of this piece, including the Toscaninis, and at least 5 by Furtwangler alone. I won't claim it's the "best," as I don't believe there can be such a thing. Many of the Toscanini and Furtwangler ones are extraordinary. But so is the Kleiber. I was surprised to hear a conductor of a "later" generation extract that much energy, tension, feeling, and meaning from a piece which I had heard hundreds of times since childhood. I thought that it had been done to death by now, and I was wrong. Don't miss it. The sound recording is, in addition, of course, incredible. And with this piece, many of the greatest performances were recorded long ago, when recording was not as advanced. Many of us who grew up with the classic recordings of the great conductors, were used to hearing Beethoven associated with a certain sound quality, when reproduced. It's wonderful to hear Beethoven's violins, violas, cellos and basses closer to what string instruments really sound like in a concert hall. To hear his instruments really bowed, etc., in a disc recording makes one re-appreciate his art that much more. But the essence of an acid test is still Kleiber's conducting. It is breathtaking. Don't miss it. 66.108.4.183 20:27, 3 November 2006 (UTC) Allen Roth