- Erich Kleiber
Erich Kleiber (
August 5 ,1890 –January 27 ,1956 ) was anAustria n-born conductor.Born in
Vienna , Kleiber studied inPrague . In 1923, after conducting a stirring performance ofBeethoven 'sFidelio at theBerlin State Opera , he became that institution's music director.He was known for his interpretations of the standard symphonic and operatic repertoire, as well as for championing new works. In 1925, for example, he conducted the première of
Alban Berg 'sopera , "Wozzeck ". When Berg's second opera "Lulu" was branded "Entartete Musik" (degenerate music) by theNazi Party , Kleiber resigned from his post at the Berlin Opera in protest. He was not Jewish. [ Kleiber also repudiated his contract withLa Scala in Milan in April of 1939, saying that "... [since] "la Scala" is denied for Jews...both as a Christian and an artist, I can no longer cooperate."(Cited in "Notes from Abroad" in "The Musical times", April, 1939.)]Later he moved to
Buenos Aires , where he worked at the Colón Theater, becoming its music director. Here he specialized in the German operatic repertoire, particularly the works ofWagner . Through the prestige of his name, he was able to attract such luminaries to the Colón asEmanuel List ,Kirsten Flagstad ,Viorica Ursuleac (in her only American appearances) andSet Svanholm . Some of his performances from this period have been available on CDs of varying quality, depending upon the conditions under which the original recordings were made. He took Argentinian citizenship in 1938.After World War II, he was offered his old position at the Berlin State Opera, which was now in the Russian zone of the city, but after discovering that the Communists were no more to his taste than the Nazis had been, he resigned without having conducted a single performance. He became a roving guest conductor, never again having any permanent post.
Erich Kleiber made a few recordings, mainly for
Decca . Two operatic recordings are especially remarkable: Mozart's "Le Nozze di Figaro " and Richard Strauss's "Der Rosenkavalier ". The former was included in Gramophone Magazine's 100 Grest Recordings.His son,
Carlos Kleiber , was himself a world-renowned conductor.notes
Bibliography
*John Russell, Erich Kleiber: A Memoir (1957)
*Tomislav Vichev, Kleiber's Era (2002)External links
* [http://www.thrsw.com/ekdisc/ Discography]
* [http://www.kleiber.hit.bg/en/ Kleiber's era]
* [http://members.macconnect.com/users/j/jimbob/classical/kleiber.html Biography, Annotated bibliography and Discography and Web links]
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