Carlos Kleiber

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Carlos Kleiber (July 3, 1930 - July 13, 2004) was a German conductor.

Contents

[edit] Early career

Kleiber was born Karl Ludwig Kleiber in Berlin, the son of the German conductor Erich Kleiber and Ruth Goodrich, an American.[1]. In 1935, the Kleiber family emigrated to Buenos Aires, after Erich Kleiber had resigned his post at the Berlin Opera in protest over the Nazi Party's policies. Karl's name became Carlos. As a youth, he had an English governess, grew up in English boarding schools in Argentina and later studied in New York and Zurich. He also composed, sang, and played piano and timpani. While his father noticed his son's musical talents, Erich Kleiber nevertheless dissuaded Carlos from pursuing a musical career: "What a pity the boy is musically talented," wrote his father to a friend.

Carlos Kleiber initially studied chemistry in Zürich, but soon decided to dedicate himself to music. He was repetiteur at the Gartnerplatz Theatre in Munich in 1952, and became Kapellmeister at Potsdam in 1954. From 1958 to 1964 he was Kapellmeister at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf and Duisburg, and then at the Opera in Zürich from 1964 to 1966. Between 1966 and 1973 he was first Kapellmeister in Stuttgart, his last permanent post. During the following years, he often conducted at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich.

[edit] Mature career

During his freelance career, Kleiber restricted his conducting appearances to a select number of occasions. He made his British debut in 1966 with a performance at the Edinburgh Festival of Alban Berg's opera Wozzeck, a work his father had conducted at its premiere in 1925. He made his Bayreuth debut in 1974 with a performance of Richard Wagner's Tristan und Isolde.

His American debut came in 1977 at the San Francisco Opera.[2]. In 1983, his second US performance was with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, in what proved to be his only US orchestra appearance.[3] [4]. His New York Metropolitan Opera debut was in 1988, conducting Giacomo Puccini's La bohème with Luciano Pavarotti and Mirella Freni.[5] In 1989, following Herbert von Karajan's resignation from the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Kleiber was offered, and declined, the post of the orchestra's next music director.[6] Kleiber returned to the Met in 1990 to conduct Otello[7] and Der Rosenkavalier[8].

Kleiber largely kept out of the public eye and reportedly never gave an official interview.[9] [4]. After his resignation from the Bavarian State Opera, his appearances became less frequent, and he made only a few recordings. Most of these are regarded as very fine recordings; his versions of Ludwig van Beethoven's fifth and seventh symphonies with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and of the Symphony No. 4 (Beethoven) with the Bavarian State Orchestra are particularly notable. Other notable recordings include Johannes Brahms' Symphony No. 4 and Franz Schubert's third and eighth ("Unfinished") symphonies, also with the Vienna Philharmonic, recordings of Dvořák's Concerto for piano and orchestra with Sviatoslav Richter, Carl Maria von Weber's Der Freischütz, Johann Strauss' Die Fledermaus, Giuseppe Verdi's La Traviata and Richard Wagner's Tristan und Isolde.

[edit] Preserved performances

Kleiber's unique conducting style is preserved on video in a number of performances: Beethoven's Symphony No. 4 and Symphony No. 7 from the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam,[10] Johann Strauss' Die Fledermaus from Munich, Richard Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier from both Munich and Vienna, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's 36th symphony and Brahms' second symphony from the Musikverein in Vienna and Beethoven's Coriolan Overture, Mozart's 33rd and Brahms' fourth symphonies from Munich and Bizet's Carmen. He led the New Year's Concert of the Vienna Philharmonic in 1989 and 1992, and these are both preserved on video.

[edit] Impact

He effectively retired from concert life in the early 1990s, occasionally appearing to give private concerts or benefit concerts. For one such event, instead of the usual fee, Kleiber received a new Audi made to his specifications. In the opinion of many of his colleagues and audiences who have experienced his meticulously rehearsed but ever spontaneous and inspired performances, this eccentric genius is perhaps the greatest conductor of his generation, despite the paucity of his appearances.[11][12][13] [14] [15]

He is buried in the Slovenian village of Konjšica near Litija together with his wife Stanislava Brezovar, a ballet dancer, who died 7 months earlier.[16] He and his wife had two children, a son, Marko, and a daughter, Lillian.

[edit] Official discography (complete)

[edit] Official DVD releases

[edit] References

  1. ^ Harvey Sachs. "The Conductor Who Could Not Tolerate Error", New York Times, 25 July 2004. Retrieved on 2007-10-14. 
  2. ^ John Rockwell. "Carlos Kleiber Is Dead at 74; Music's Perfectionist Recluse", New York Times, 20 July 2004. Retrieved on 2007-10-14. 
  3. ^ Michael Walsh. "Unvarnished Symphonies", Time, 13 July 1983. Retrieved on 2007-10-14. 
  4. ^ a b Nicholas Kenyon. "Carlos Kleiber: Genius Wrapped In an Enigma", New York Times, 15 October 1989. Retrieved on 2007-10-14. 
  5. ^ Donal Henehan. "Pavarotti and Freni in La Boheme", New York Times, 24 January 1988. Retrieved on 2007-10-14. 
  6. ^ Jacobs, Arthur (1990) "Kleiber, Carlos" The Penguin Dictionary of Musical Performers Viking, London
  7. ^ Donal Henehan. "Carlos Kleiber Leads Placido Domingo In Verdi's Otello", New York Times, 7 March 1990. Retrieved on 2007-10-14. 
  8. ^ Donal Henehan. "Sweeping Rosenkavalier at the Met", New York Times, 27 September 1990. Retrieved on 2007-10-14. 
  9. ^ Martin Kettle, "A rare touch of musical magic". The Guardian, 1 January 1990.
  10. ^ Bernard Holland. "Conducting for Cultists: Beethoven From Kleiber", New York Times, 19 June 1987. Retrieved on 2007-10-14. 
  11. ^ Schudel, Matt (20 July 2004) "Obituraries: Gifted, Eccentric Conductor Carlos Kleiber Dies at 74" Washington Post, Washington D.C. p. B06;
  12. ^ "Kleiber, Carlos" Current Biography Yearbook 1991 edition, H.W. Wilson Co., New York, p.338
  13. ^ Bernheimer, Martin (October 2004) "Obituaries: Carlos Kleiber" Opera News 69(4): p.85;
  14. ^ Kakaviatos, Panos (20 July, 2004) "Carlos Kleiber, 74, widely admired conductor" Chicago Sun-Times
  15. ^ Alan Blyth, obituary for Carlos Kleiber, The Guardian, 21 July 2004.
  16. ^ "Obituary section: Kleiber, Carlos" Current Biography Yearbook 2004 edition, H.W. Wilson Co., New York, p. 650;
  17. ^ Andrew Clements, "Brahms: Symphony No. 4". The Guardian, 17 March 2000.

[edit] Sources

  • Balestrazzi, Mauro: Carlos Kleiber - Angelo o demone?, 2006, ISBN 88-8302-325-0 (in Italian)
  • Fischer, Jens Malte: Carlos Kleiber - Der skrupulöse Exzentriker, 2006, ISBN 3-8353-0138-1 (in German)
  • Werner, Alexander: Carlos Kleiber - Eine Biografie, 2007, ISBN 978-3-7957-0598-5 (in German)
  • Vichev, Tomislav: Kleiber's Era, 2003 (in Bulgarian)

[edit] External links