Conductor Carlos Kleiber died on July 13, 2004 in Slovenia. In my view he was the most amazing orchestral and Opera leader of the past 200 years.
Kleiber was the son of a famous conductor in his own right. Yet the father, Erich Kleiber, was not supportive of his son’s musical ambitions for many years…
While yesterday was a sad anniversary for those of us who admired Carlos Kleiber as a World Class musician, we also celebrate this year the 250th birth anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven, who was born in 1770.
I decided to celebrate both of these events in my on privacy yesterday when I listened for the first time to a DVD recording of Carlos Kleiber conducting the Symphony #4 by Beethoven.
Beethoven wrote this work in 1806 when he was 36 years old. While he may have already experienced some hearing loss at that time, he was not totally deaf until a few years later.
More than everything else I could say, the music I heard was a celebration that consisted of total JOY! While Beethoven’s Symphony #3 gave us drama and pioneering structure, the 4th under Kleiber had me smile when I so often saw the conductor smile at the magical sounds that the members of the orchestra produced during this performance! There was amazing clarity, total adherence to rhythm and dynamics, and yes: A festival of Joy!
Here is what I heard for your own enjoyment:
