'''Carlos Kleiber''' ([[July 3]], [[1930]] - [[July 13]], [[2004]]) was an [[Austria]]n [[Conducting|conductor]].

[[Image:Kleiber3.jpg]]

Kleiber was born in [[Berlin]], the son of the conductor [[Erich Kleiber]]. As a boy, he moved to [[Buenos Aires]] with his father, who had resigned his post at the Berlin Opera in protest over the [[Nazi Party]]'s policies. He composed and played piano and timpani as a boy, and his musical talents were noted by his father, who nevertheless dissuaded him from pursuing a musical career. He 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. Between 1958 and 1964 he was kapellmeister at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf-Duisberg, and then at the Opera in Zürich from 1964 to 1966. Between 1966 and 1973 he was first kapellmeister in [[Stuttgart]], after which time he never held another permanent post. During the following years he was often seen in the pit at the Bayerische Staatsoper in [[Munich]].

He made his [[Britain|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 [[United States|American]] debut came in 1978 with a legendary concert with the [[Chicago Symphony Orchestra]], and his [[New York]] [[Metropolitan Opera]] debut in 1988 with performances of [[Giacomo Puccini]]'s [[La Boheme]] with [[Luciano Pavarotti]] and [[Mirella Freni]] in the lead roles.

Kleiber largely kept out of the public eye. After his resignation from the [[Stuttgart]] State Opera, his appearences became increasingly less frequent, and he made only a small number of recordings. Almost all those that he made, however, are regarded as very fine recordings, with his versions of [[Ludwig van Beethoven]]'s [[Symphony No. 5 (Beethoven)|fifth]] and [[Symphony No. 7 (Beethoven)|seventh]] [[symphony|symphonies]] with the [[Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra]] being near-legendary. Other notable recordings include [[Johannes Brahms]]' [[Symphony No. 4]] and [[Franz Schubert]]'s [[Symphony No. 3 (Schubert)|third]] and [[Symphony No. 8 (Schubert|eighth]] ("Unfinished") symphonies, also with the Vienna Philharmonic, recordings of [[Carl Maria von Weber]]'s "[[Der Freischütz]]," [[Johann Strauss]]' "[[Die Fledermaus]]," [[Giuseppe Verdi]]'s "[[La Traviata]]" and [[Richard Wagner]]'s "[[Tristan und Isolde]]."

Kleiber's unique conducting style is preserved on video in a number of performances: [[Beethoven]]'s [[Symphony No. 4 (Beethoven)|fourth]] and [[Symphony No. 7 (Beethoven)|seventh]] symphonies from the [[Concertgebouw]] in [[Amsterdam]], [[Johann Strauss]]' "[[Die Fledermaus]]" from [[Munich]], [[Richard Strauss]]' "[[Der Rosenkavalier]]" from both [[Munich]] and [[Vienna]], [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart]]'s [[Symphony No. 36 ("Linz") (Mozart)|36th]] symphony and [[Brahms]]' [[Symphony No. 2 (Brahms)|second]] symphony from the [[Musikverein, Vienna|Musikverein]] in [[Vienna]] and [[Beethoven]]'s [[Coriolan Overture]], [[Mozart]]'s [[Symphony No. 33 (Mozart)|33rd]] and [[Brahms]]' [[Symphony No. 4 (Brahms)|fourth]] symphonies from [[Munich]]. He led the [[Vienna New Year's Concert|New Year's Concert]] of the [[Vienna Philharmonic]] twice - in 1989 and 1992, and these are both preserved on video.

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 appearences.

He is buried in a [[Slovenia]]n village [[Konjsica|Konjšica]] near [[Litija]] (approx. 60 km east from [[Ljubljana]]) together with his wife [[Stanka Brezovar]], a [[ballet]] [[dancer]], who died 7 months earlier. He is survived by a son, Marko, and a daughter, Lillian.

[[Category:1930 births|Kleiber, Carlos]]
[[Category:2004 deaths|Kleiber, Carlos]]
[[Category:Conductors|Kleiber, Carlos]]

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2004-12-06T21:55:01Z

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