The great Carlos Kleiber
In my view, Carlos Kleiber was one of the greatest orchestra conductors during the past 100 years. As a leader, as a musician, as a communicator with players, as a person who inspires top performances, this man was second to none!
It is unfortunate that we have so little of his recorded work left for enjoyment and study, since he’s now gone.
I watched this DVD last night and I was truly delighted and amazed: Mr. Kleiber’s attention to musical details, to precision of dynamics, to musical style, and to the finer intricacies of getting the spirit of a musical composition are all revealed in this marvelous recording. His work and commitment was an inspiration. It seems to me that this DVD should serve as a model in music schools and conducting classes… You can see and hear how Kleiber guides individual musicians and entire sections to have them achieve specific improvements. He often asks the performers to play lighter, with more grace, or to emphasize different suble areas of the music.
We hear two compositions being prepared for performance:
1. Overture to the Opera Freischuetz, by Weber
2. Overture to the Fledermaus, by Johann Strauss, Jr.
DVD Release Date: February 22, 2011
I own several other DVD’s by Carlos Kleiber, such as his interpretation of Brahms’ second symphony, and also of a Mozart symphony. I now understand better why I always enjoy these DVD so much, as well.
See my review of the concert of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in Berkeley that I posted a few says ago. Wow… what that concert would have been like if Maestro Kleiber was conducting!
Here is a portion of this DVD:
Südfunk-Sinfonieorchester; recorded in 1970 with Carlos Kleiber conducting:
There are subtitles in English.
And here he is again in the performance of: Johannes Brahms Symphony No. 2 in D-Major op. 73; IV. Allegro con Spirito, with the Wiener Philharmoniker:
Highly recommended!
If you would like to purchase this DVD at Amazon, please click on the image below to complete your purchase:
Tags: Carlos Kleiber, GREAT orchestra conductor, rehearsal