Erich Kleiber
Encyclopedia
Erich Kleiber was an Austria
n conductor
.
, Kleiber studied in Prague
. In 1923, after conducting a stirring performance of Beethoven's Fidelio
at the Berlin 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 he conducted the première of Alban Berg
's opera
, Wozzeck
. When Berg's second opera Lulu
was branded Entartete Musik (degenerate music) by the Nazi Party, Kleiber, who was not Jewish and therefore could have continued his career under the Nazi regime, resigned from his post at the Berlin Opera in protest. Kleiber also repudiated his contract with La Scala
in Milan in April 1939, shortly after the fascist Mussolini
regime enacted its own anti-semitic legislation, saying: "...[since] la Scala is denied for Jews...both as a Christian and an artist, I can no longer co-operate."
Kleiber 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 of Wagner. Through the prestige of his name, he was able to attract such luminaries to the Colón as Emanuel List
, Kirsten Flagstad
, Viorica Ursuleac
(in her only appearances in the Western Hemisphere) and Set Svanholm
. Some of his performances from this period have been made available on CDs of varying quality, depending upon the conditions under which the original recordings took place. In 1938, Kleiber became an Argentine citizen.
After World War II, he was offered his erstwhile post at the Berlin State Opera, which was at that time in the Russia
n zone of the divided 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 died on the 200th anniversary of Mozart's birth in Zurich. According to his son, Carlos Kleiber
, in a bathtub, bleeding. Whether this indicates suicide -- he was apparently embittered after being turned down as music director of the Vienna State Opera -- has never been confirmed. The official cause of death was a heart attack.
Kleiber made a few recordings, mainly for Decca
. Two operatic recordings are still considered among the finest of these works: Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro (with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
, and Cesare Siepi
as Figaro) and Richard Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier
. The former was included in Gramophone magazine's 100 Greatest Recordings. Kleiber also composed; among his works are a Violin Concerto, Piano Concerto, orchestral variations, Capriccio for Orchestra, numerous chamber music works, piano pieces, and songs.
His son Carlos Kleiber
became a renowned conductor in his own right.
In August 2010, the Colón Theater
with Daniel Barenboim
celebrated the 120th Anniversary of Kleiber's birth.
In January 2011, the National Library in Sofia mark the 55th Anniversary of his death.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
.
Biography
Born in ViennaVienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Kleiber studied in Prague
Prague Conservatory
Prague Conservatory, sometimes also Prague Conservatoire, in Czech Pražská konzervatoř, is a Czech secondary school in Prague dedicated to teaching the arts of music and theater acting.- Instruction :...
. In 1923, after conducting a stirring performance of Beethoven's Fidelio
Fidelio
Fidelio is a German opera in two acts by Ludwig van Beethoven. It is Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto is by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly which had been used for the 1798 opera Léonore, ou L’amour conjugal by Pierre Gaveaux, and for the 1804 opera Leonora...
at the Berlin State Opera
Berlin State Opera
The Staatsoper Unter den Linden is a German opera company. Its permanent home is the opera house on the Unter den Linden boulevard in the Mitte district of Berlin, which also hosts the Staatskapelle Berlin orchestra.-Early years:...
, 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 he conducted the première of Alban Berg
Alban Berg
Alban Maria Johannes Berg was an Austrian composer. He was a member of the Second Viennese School with Arnold Schoenberg and Anton Webern, and produced compositions that combined Mahlerian Romanticism with a personal adaptation of Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique.-Early life:Berg was born in...
's opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
, Wozzeck
Wozzeck
Wozzeck is the first opera by the Austrian composer Alban Berg. It was composed between 1914 and 1922 and first performed in 1925. The opera is based on the drama Woyzeck left incomplete by the German playwright Georg Büchner at his death. Berg attended the first production in Vienna of Büchner's...
. When Berg's second opera Lulu
Lulu (opera)
Lulu is an opera by the composer Alban Berg. The libretto was adapted by Berg himself from Frank Wedekind's plays Erdgeist and Die Büchse der Pandora .-Composition history:...
was branded Entartete Musik (degenerate music) by the Nazi Party, Kleiber, who was not Jewish and therefore could have continued his career under the Nazi regime, resigned from his post at the Berlin Opera in protest. Kleiber also repudiated his contract with La Scala
La Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
in Milan in April 1939, shortly after the fascist Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
regime enacted its own anti-semitic legislation, saying: "...[since] la Scala is denied for Jews...both as a Christian and an artist, I can no longer co-operate."
Kleiber moved to Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, where he worked at the Colón Theater
Colón Theater
To Redirect to homonymous theatre in Bogotá see Teatro de Cristobal ColónThe Teatro Colón is the main opera house in Buenos Aires, Argentina, acoustically considered to be amongst the five best concert venues in the world.The present Colón replaced an original theatre which opened in 1857...
, becoming its music director. Here he specialized in the German operatic repertoire, particularly the works of Wagner. Through the prestige of his name, he was able to attract such luminaries to the Colón as Emanuel List
Emanuel List
Emanuel List was an Austrian-American opera bass. He is best remembered for his performances in Wagnerian operas....
, Kirsten Flagstad
Kirsten Flagstad
Kirsten Målfrid Flagstad was a Norwegian opera singer and a highly regarded Wagnerian soprano...
, Viorica Ursuleac
Viorica Ursuleac
Viorica Ursuleac was an important Romanian operatic soprano.Viorica Ursuleac was born the daughter of a Greek Orthodox archdeacon, in Chernivtsi, which is now in Ukraine. Following training in Vienna, she made her operatic debut in Zagreb , as Charlotte in Massenet's Werther, in 1922...
(in her only appearances in the Western Hemisphere) and Set Svanholm
Set Svanholm
Set Svanholm was a Swedish operatic tenor, considered the leading Tristan and Siegfried of the first decade following World War II....
. Some of his performances from this period have been made available on CDs of varying quality, depending upon the conditions under which the original recordings took place. In 1938, Kleiber became an Argentine citizen.
After World War II, he was offered his erstwhile post at the Berlin State Opera, which was at that time in the Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n zone of the divided 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 died on the 200th anniversary of Mozart's birth in Zurich. According to his son, Carlos Kleiber
Carlos Kleiber
Carlos Kleiber was a German-born, Austrian classical conductor who spent most of his early life in Berlin, Buenos Aires, Vienna and New York City, and from the early 1960s his professional career in Germany.- Early career :...
, in a bathtub, bleeding. Whether this indicates suicide -- he was apparently embittered after being turned down as music director of the Vienna State Opera -- has never been confirmed. The official cause of death was a heart attack.
Kleiber made a few recordings, mainly for Decca
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
. Two operatic recordings are still considered among the finest of these works: Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro (with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
The Vienna Philharmonic is an orchestra in Austria, regularly considered one of the finest in the world....
, and Cesare Siepi
Cesare Siepi
Cesare Siepi was an Italian opera singer, generally considered to have been one of the finest basses of the post-war period. His voice was characterised by a deep, warm timbre, and a ringing, vibrant upper register. On stage, his tall, striking presence and elegance of phrasing made him a natural...
as Figaro) and Richard Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier
Der Rosenkavalier
Der Rosenkavalier is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to an original German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It is loosely adapted from the novel Les amours du chevalier de Faublas by Louvet de Couvrai and Molière’s comedy Monsieur de Pourceaugnac...
. The former was included in Gramophone magazine's 100 Greatest Recordings. Kleiber also composed; among his works are a Violin Concerto, Piano Concerto, orchestral variations, Capriccio for Orchestra, numerous chamber music works, piano pieces, and songs.
His son Carlos Kleiber
Carlos Kleiber
Carlos Kleiber was a German-born, Austrian classical conductor who spent most of his early life in Berlin, Buenos Aires, Vienna and New York City, and from the early 1960s his professional career in Germany.- Early career :...
became a renowned conductor in his own right.
In August 2010, the Colón Theater
Colón Theater
To Redirect to homonymous theatre in Bogotá see Teatro de Cristobal ColónThe Teatro Colón is the main opera house in Buenos Aires, Argentina, acoustically considered to be amongst the five best concert venues in the world.The present Colón replaced an original theatre which opened in 1857...
with Daniel Barenboim
Daniel Barenboim
Daniel Barenboim, KBE is an Argentinian-Israeli pianist and conductor. He has served as music director of several major symphonic and operatic orchestras and made numerous recordings....
celebrated the 120th Anniversary of Kleiber's birth.
In January 2011, the National Library in Sofia mark the 55th Anniversary of his death.