Kleiber père was one of the supreme Opera conductors. One of the things he did better than anyone was to make each instrument in the orchestra an integral part of the drama and fun, giving each a character, which is especially notable in the Nozze di Figaro recording because of Mozart's writing. No other performance I've ever heard makes the orchestra so characterful. I love his Vienna 'Eroica' and Amsterdam 'Pastorale' too, but don't deny that his Rosenkavalier is nonpareil. One of the conductors who truly deserves to be called "great!" His son Carlos once said "my father was a far greater conductor than I," and I agree.
I’d have chosen Nozze right because of what you have said about his way of conducting. Given that Nozze is the perfect opera “par excellence”, the piece where everything is displayed in an olympic balance, kleiber’s conducting gave full evidence and tremendous value of the inner essence of Nozze which I summarized before.
@@Tom-wf6ym Cast is fabulous but for one exception: Alfred Poell. He's like Ebehard Wachter. A barking, hectoring Wehrmacht sergeant that has no place in Mozart. A pity Decca didn't find a good Italian baritone for the Count for this recording. Like Tito Gobbi or Sesto Bruscantini.
Not only a great Rosenkavalier but this was the first uncut recording of it and the last for many years until the Decca stereo set with Solti. Since we never hear the opera live without Strauss's own sanctioned cuts, it's nice to get as much Rosenkavalier as we can for the money. And Kleiber makes it work. Some of the opera house cuts seem to be not so much for time but complexity. They involve a lot of rehearsal for very little return. But here Kleiber and his cast make you glad to hear all of it. My only reservation about this choice is Maria Reining's Marschallin is past its prime. On the thin side.
@jaykauffman4775 That's the one with Schech and Seefried? I checked, you're right. Bohm was often the king of cuts in Strauss so I forgot about that one.
That radio Freischütz of Kleiber pére's is the best performance of that opera...ever! No doubt, no discussion, just a plain and simple fact. This is primarily due to Kleiber's incomparable command of the score, and the contribution of the female protagonist, Elisabeth Grümmer as the most affecting Agathe on record - neigh perfect, and here in the best of voice of any of her three recordings (Keilberth, Furtwängler and this one). Over the years I've experienced two different, grown up men burst into tears, just by playing Grümmer's "Leise, leise..." - aria from this Freischütz! Unmissable!
Nice review - thank you. Maria Reining was the only comparatively weak link in what could've been a library choice for Rosenkavalier were it not for Mrs Legge on the Karajan set which, as a result, is the set to have for me. The Philharmonia way outplay their Viennese rivals and the Columbia recording - even in its mono version - is way better than the scrawnier Decca one. Interpretively however, there's very little between Kleiber and Karajan, or indeed Boehm (whose recording is similarly compromised by a way off-form Marianne Schech) so, ideally, I need all three - with the underrated (and superbly recorded) Solti set as a reserve.
I see two Eric Kleber deco boxes on Amazon. One has a black cover says it’s complete Decca recordings and according to this has 15 discs. It’s about $30 less expensive than the box that David showed in this video. And that box reports to have 13 discs. Can anybody tell me the difference?
It's such a great performance. No disguising that Reining is not in great voice (I understand that she'd had surgery which in those days could badly affect the voice)--she's a whole lot fresher in the interesting 1949 Salzburg recording under Szell. But she is wonderful & knew the composer.
Or even better the 1953 Salzburg Clemens Krauss recording (Guild). Neither the Szell nor the Krauss recording is exactly HiFi, but Guild's remastering falls a bit kinder on the ears - and Krauss' realisation of the work is just that tad better than Szell's in 1949. Reining's Marschallin, I find superior to both her 1949 and 1955 rendition. You don't need to snear at the other members of the Krauss female trio: della Casa as Octavian and Güden as Sophie
It's so important to remember this fine recording, because the Karajan gets all the attention. I'll take Maria Reining over Schwarzkopf any old day. At least in this role.
![If you can't hear this then you're not an audiophile [See description for link to followup video]](/img/1.gif)
The Ninth! 😂 gets me laughing every time, never fails 😀
Kleiber père was one of the supreme Opera conductors. One of the things he did better than anyone was to make each instrument in the orchestra an integral part of the drama and fun, giving each a character, which is especially notable in the Nozze di Figaro recording because of Mozart's writing. No other performance I've ever heard makes the orchestra so characterful. I love his Vienna 'Eroica' and Amsterdam 'Pastorale' too, but don't deny that his Rosenkavalier is nonpareil. One of the conductors who truly deserves to be called "great!" His son Carlos once said "my father was a far greater conductor than I," and I agree.
Yup! I keep going back to that recording. So satisfying. I keep going back to his Marriage of Figaro as well.
I’d have chosen Nozze right because of what you have said about his way of conducting. Given that Nozze is the perfect opera “par excellence”, the piece where everything is displayed in an olympic balance, kleiber’s conducting gave full evidence and tremendous value of the inner essence of Nozze which I summarized before.
Couldn’t agree more-and what a fabulous cast. For me it’s like the Krips Don Giovanni, a real high water mark of 20th century Mozart performance.
@@Tom-wf6ym fully agree with you! I’m in love with krips Mozart symphonies
@@Tom-wf6ym Cast is fabulous but for one exception: Alfred Poell. He's like Ebehard Wachter. A barking, hectoring Wehrmacht sergeant that has no place in Mozart. A pity Decca didn't find a good Italian baritone for the Count for this recording. Like Tito Gobbi or Sesto Bruscantini.
Good point-and memorably put. It’s going to be hard to shake that hectoring Wehrmacht sergeant image!
@@Tom-wf6ym"For me it's like the Krips Don Giovanni...".... just better conducted!
Not only a great Rosenkavalier but this was the first uncut recording of it and the last for many years until the Decca stereo set with Solti. Since we never hear the opera live without Strauss's own sanctioned cuts, it's nice to get as much Rosenkavalier as we can for the money. And Kleiber makes it work. Some of the opera house cuts seem to be not so much for time but complexity. They involve a lot of rehearsal for very little return. But here Kleiber and his cast make you glad to hear all of it.
My only reservation about this choice is Maria Reining's Marschallin is past its prime. On the thin side.
The Bohm 1960 Rosenkavalier was note complete
@jaykauffman4775 That's the one with Schech and Seefried? I checked, you're right. Bohm was often the king of cuts in Strauss so I forgot about that one.
I love whenever you do that cut to “The Ninth”, it’s great!
He also did a great Freischutz with Cologne Radio in 1955. Very close call as to who is better...father or son.
Father. The son said so.
And FAR better than Furtwangler's with a similar cast.
That radio Freischütz of Kleiber pére's is the best performance of that opera...ever! No doubt, no discussion, just a plain and simple fact. This is primarily due to Kleiber's incomparable command of the score, and the contribution of the female protagonist, Elisabeth Grümmer as the most affecting Agathe on record - neigh perfect, and here in the best of voice of any of her three recordings (Keilberth, Furtwängler and this one). Over the years I've experienced two different, grown up men burst into tears, just by playing Grümmer's "Leise, leise..." - aria from this Freischütz! Unmissable!
Nice review - thank you. Maria Reining was the only comparatively weak link in what could've been a library choice for Rosenkavalier were it not for Mrs Legge on the Karajan set which, as a result, is the set to have for me. The Philharmonia way outplay their Viennese rivals and the Columbia recording - even in its mono version - is way better than the scrawnier Decca one. Interpretively however, there's very little between Kleiber and Karajan, or indeed Boehm (whose recording is similarly compromised by a way off-form Marianne Schech) so, ideally, I need all three - with the underrated (and superbly recorded) Solti set as a reserve.
I see two Eric Kleber deco boxes on Amazon. One has a black cover says it’s complete Decca recordings and according to this has 15 discs. It’s about $30 less expensive than the box that David showed in this video. And that box reports to have 13 discs. Can anybody tell me the difference?
It's such a great performance. No disguising that Reining is not in great voice (I understand that she'd had surgery which in those days could badly affect the voice)--she's a whole lot fresher in the interesting 1949 Salzburg recording under Szell. But she is wonderful & knew the composer.
Or even better the 1953 Salzburg Clemens Krauss recording (Guild). Neither the Szell nor the Krauss recording is exactly HiFi, but Guild's remastering falls a bit kinder on the ears - and Krauss' realisation of the work is just that tad better than Szell's in 1949. Reining's Marschallin, I find superior to both her 1949 and 1955 rendition. You don't need to snear at the other members of the Krauss female trio: della Casa as Octavian and Güden as Sophie
It's so important to remember this fine recording, because the Karajan gets all the attention. I'll take Maria Reining over Schwarzkopf any old day. At least in this role.
Did Erich Keiber ever make any _stereo_ recordings?
Yes. Marriage of Figaro, 1955 on Decca.
Didn't he conduct the world premiere of Wozzeck?
As I said in the video...
Yes, Dec 14, 1925, according to Wikipedia.