A month after Carlos Kleiber died, I ran into a prominent conductor of my acquaintance at Academy Records. When talk turned to Kleiber, he sighed and said, “My God, he was the greatest of us all. The greatest.”
Watch the opening segment of Eric Schulz’s deeply moving portrait of Kleiber, in the words and recollections of his colleagues intercut with rehearsal and concert footage, here. Hat tip: Sybille Werner.
UPDATE: It’s out now on DVD in North America. Find the best price here. If you were in New York City during October 1990 and caught Der Rosenkavalier at the MET, you know what all the buzz was about.
I’m a huge fan of wizardly recording engineer Tony Faulkner, a longtime practicioner of “less-is-more” audiophile recording techniques. He hasn’t hesitated to tip a few sacred cows over the years, and created a major fuss in the classical recording industry during the early 1990s when he had the audacity to criticize no less an institution than Deutsche Grammophon on the matter of their overhyped, artificial-sounding “4D” recording process. In an editorial posted to Classical Source, Tony puts the smackdown on the venerable BBC for labeling its Radio 3 transmissions as “H[igh] D[efinition]” when it simply isn’t true (we’ve been seeing similar misleading monkeyshines in the States). The editorial is a must-read for audiophiles and casual listeners alike.
The confusing and convoluted tale of my journey from composer to record label jack-of-all-trades to registered lobbyist (for the good guys in health and the performing arts) to renegade reissue producer is best left to a post all its own, but after having read and heard a litany of positive feedback on one reissue project with which I was recently involved, I feel the urge to weigh in. Continue reading Richter Fixer→
I’ve been a bit disappointed with the interpretive side of Bernard Haitink’s most recent concerts with the Chicago Symphony in Carnegie Hall, but remain mighty impressed by the quality of the orchestra. Under Haitink’s interim leadership between music directors Daniel Barenboim and Riccardo Muti (in tandem with Pierre Boulez), the orchestra remains one of the world’s greatest, and has even taken on a richer wind sound.
My favorite radio producer for the arts, the indefatigable Gail Wein, writes:
Just a quick note to let you know that my feature on Balinese gamelan will air this Sunday (tomorrow!) on Weekend All Things Considered. WATC is broadcast on public radio stations around the country, and airs most places from 5-6 pm. The feature will be archived on npr.org, so you’ll be able to hear it anytime.
I’m about halfway through listening to Budapest Music Center Records’ marvelous 14-disc collection of live recordings by piano titan Sviatoslav Richter. A couple of reviewers have not been too kind to this set, and I think they need to clean out their ears. Continue reading Candy Is Dandy, But Richter Is Quicker, Budapest Edition→
In celebration of the American Independence Day weekend — and because it was toward the top of the massive “yet-to-be-played” pile — I fired up a Naxos CD release of symphonic music by Roy Harris played by the Bournemouth Symphony conducted by Marin Alsop (catalogue number 8.559609).
Just over a month ago, amidst a wave of upheaval that had disrupted (and continues to wreak small waves of havoc with) my life and work, I received a package containing a couple of CDs and a cover letter.
