Carlos Kleiber

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Carlos Kleiber (3 July 1930 – 13 July 2004) was a German-born, Austrian classical conductor who spent most of his early life in Berlin, Buenos Aires, Vienna and New York City, and from the early 1960s his professional career in Germany.

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[edit] Early career

Kleiber was born as Karl Ludwig Kleiber in Berlin, the son of the Austrian conductor Erich Kleiber and Ruth Goodrich, an American of Jewish origin.[1] In 1940, the Kleiber family emigrated to Buenos Aires. Karl's name became Carlos. As a youth, he had an English governess, grew up in English boarding schools. 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 Gärtnerplatz Theatre in Munich in 1952, and made his conducting debut with the operetta Gasparone at Potsdam theatre 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 1978 with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra,[2] where he again conducted in 1983, his only US orchestra appearances.[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 1989 to conduct La traviata, and in 1990 for Otello[7] and Der Rosenkavalier.[8]

Kleiber kept out of the public eye and reportedly never gave an interview.[4][9] After he resigned 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; his versions of Ludwig van Beethoven's fifth and seventh symphonies with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and of Beethoven's Symphonies Nos. 4, 6 and 7 with the Bavarian State Orchestra are particularly distinguished. 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 ; Beethoven's Coriolan Overture, Mozart's 33rd and Brahms' fourth symphonies from Munich and Bizet's Carmen again from Vienna. 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 in Ingolstadt, instead of the usual fee, Kleiber received a new Audi made to his specifications. Kleiber's performances were meticulously rehearsed but often considered to be spontaneous and inspired. In the opinion of many of his colleagues and audiences, Kleiber was an eccentric genius who was amongst the greatest conductors of all time, despite the paucity of his appearances.[11][12][13][14][15]

He is buried in the Slovenian village of Konjšica near Litija in 2004, together with his wife Stanislava Brezovar, a ballet dancer, who died seven months earlier.[16] He and his wife had two children, a son, Marko, and a daughter, Lillian.

In 2008 Rai Radio 3 (Italian National Radio channel 3), inside its evening program Radio3Suite, broadcast a 10-episode program dedicated to Kleiber's legacy: Il Sorriso Della Musica: Un Ritratto Di Carlos Kleiber ("The Smile Of Music: A Portrait Of Carlos Kleiber"), by Andrea Ottonello, based on great contributions and attestations like the one by Claudio Abbado, Mirella Freni, Maurizio Pollini, and above all Carlos Kleiber's sister, Veronica. In the interview, Abbado says Kleiber has been "the most important conductor of the 20th century".[17]

On 26 September 2009, BBC Radio 3 transmitted a unique documentary, Who Was Carlos Kleiber? Produced by Paul Frankl, and presented by Ivan Hewett with research by Ruth Thomson, this feature was based on interviews with four who knew Kleiber well: tenor and conductor Plácido Domingo, music administrator and Intendant Sir Peter Jonas, music journalist and critic Christine Lemke-Matvey, and conductor–pianist Charles Barber. It may be downloaded at: http://www.mediafire.com/?wn4lnykyqkk You can read transcription of BBC Radio Program at: http://www.carlos-kleiber.com/resources

On 21 June 2010, Ljubljana celebrated Carlos Kleiber's 80th Birthday with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra under Riccardo Muti.

BBC Music Magazine, one of the more popular such journals, announced on 17 March 2011 that Kleiber had been selected as "the greatest conductor of all time." Some 100 current conductors, including Sir Colin Davis, Gustavo Dudamel, Valery Gergiev and Mariss Jansons participated in the BBC poll. Kleiber, who conducted just 96 concerts and around 400 operatic performances in his 74 years, was voted ahead of Leonard Bernstein and Claudio Abbado, who took second and third places respectively.

Susanna Mälkki, Music director, Ensemble Intercontemporain, and one of the conductors polled, commented: "Carlos Kleiber brought an incredible energy to music… Yes, he did have about five times as much time to rehearse than conductors do today, but he deserved it because his vision was remarkable, he knew what he wanted, and his attention to detail was truly inspiring."

Jeremy Pound, Deputy Editor of BBC Music Magazine, added: "Asking 100 of today's conducting greats to name their idols and inspirations was a fascinating experience. Not least when so many named Carlos Kleiber, who in the course of his whole lifetime conducted fewer concerts than most of them manage in just a couple of years. Kleiber's incredible attention to detail, sheer enthusiasm for music, and astonishingly accomplished level of performance could never be doubted – perhaps 'less is more' is the real path to true greatness?"

According to Dr Charles Barber, biographer and student of Kleiber, another factor contributed to his legendary and unusual career. "Uniquely, Carlos Kleiber combined the rigors of German analysis, form, and discipline with the expressive vitality of Latin dance, pulse, and joy. For nearly twenty years at the formative outset, a conductor baptized Karl gradually became Carlos. He never turned his back on that fascinating cultural biochemistry. It would shape everything he did."

[edit] Discography (complete)

[edit] DVD releases

[edit] References

  1. ^ Harvey Sachs (2004-07-25). "The Conductor Who Could Not Tolerate Error". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B05EFDE113AF936A15754C0A9629C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all. Retrieved 2007-10-14. 
  2. ^ John Rockwell (2004-07-20). "Carlos Kleiber Is Dead at 74; Music's Perfectionist Recluse". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C01E0DF103AF933A15754C0A9629C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all. Retrieved 2007-10-14. 
  3. ^ Michael Walsh (1983-07-13). "Unvarnished Symphonies". Time. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,952033,00.html. Retrieved 2007-10-14. 
  4. ^ a b Nicholas Kenyon (1989-10-15). "Carlos Kleiber: Genius Wrapped In an Enigma". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE5D61E3DF936A25753C1A96F948260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all. Retrieved 2007-10-14. 
  5. ^ Donal Henehan (1988-01-24). "Pavarotti and Freni in La Boheme". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE0DA113AF937A15752C0A96E948260. Retrieved 2007-10-14. 
  6. ^ Jacobs, Arthur (1990) "Kleiber, Carlos" The Penguin Dictionary of Musical Performers Viking, London
  7. ^ Donal Henehan (1990-03-07). "Carlos Kleiber Leads Plácido Domingo In Verdi's Otello". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE3D9123DF934A35750C0A966958260. Retrieved 2007-10-14. 
  8. ^ Donal Henehan (1990-09-27). "Sweeping Rosenkavalier at the Met". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE3DA123BF934A1575AC0A966958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all. Retrieved 2007-10-14. 
  9. ^ Martin Kettle, "A rare touch of musical magic". The Guardian, 1 January 1990.
  10. ^ Bernard Holland (1987-06-19). "Conducting for Cultists: Beethoven From Kleiber". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE7D91F3FF93AA25755C0A961948260. Retrieved 2007-10-14. 
  11. ^ Schudel, Matt (20 July 2004) "Obituaries: 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. ^ http://www.radio.rai.it/radio3/radio3_suite/view.cfm?Q_EV_ID=240713&Q_PROG_ID=68
  18. ^ Andrew Clements, "Brahms: Symphony No. 4". The Guardian, 17 March 2000.
  19. ^ Website ServusTV
  20. ^ Website EuroArts

[edit] Sources

[edit] External links

See also: Kleiber
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