Search - Johann II [Junior] Strauss, Josef Strauss, Johann II and Josef Strauss :: Carlos Kleiber Conducts Strauss

Great, yes, but with a caveat

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 09/17/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Kleiber was always one for tension over charm, tautness over relaxation. Keep that in mind when you listen to these galvanic but tense readings, marvels of conductorial control and orchestral unity, but not the gneial, smiling Strauss you might be used to--or desire. I respect this CD but rarely play it, preferring Karajan quite a lot over Kleiber in this material. But Kleiber's complete Fledermaus sweeps the field, as others have noted.



There are two New Year's concerts from Kleiber, by the way, this 1989 occasion and one from 1992. I find the latter more relaxed and congenial, but the recorded sound is somewhat more distant and less detailed."

The only CD you'll ever need...

Roy U. Rojas Wahl | Teaneck, NJ United States | 08/24/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"...when you are stranded on a lonely island, with a beautiful wom...



Ok, seriously: Carlos Kleiber (God bless him!) was the best of all Johann Strauss conductors, actually in my opinion far better than Karajan (who's work I otherwise respect a lot). Kleiber brings a joy and a gaiety to these pieces that has found no match before or since.



At the same time, he does always have a little of typical viennnese melancholy present, largely through his delayed rythms, exactly like true viennese waltzes want it. They live from the interplay of the gaiety of the strings and the melancholy of the delayed rythm.



Kleiber understood this, many others, including Karajan, didn't.



This recording from the 1989 Neujahrskonzert is magnificient in every way. The sound quality, unusual for a live recording, is excellent, capturing the Wiener Philharmoniker in all their depth and detail, and it becomes soon clear, probably especially for the occasion with the hermitic mystic magician on the podium, that they were beyond just top form that evening.



Do not miss this! This is the summit. Look no further."

1989 New Year's Concert

Tansal | New York, NY | 04/08/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD contains all but one of the selections from the Vienna Philharmonic's 1989 New Year's Concert, conducted by Carlos Kleiber. Bei uns z'Haus, Op. 361, was cut in order to fit this concert onto a single CD. It remains on the DVD release as the third selection. The performances in this concert are among the very best these works have ever received on record, but where there is overlap I prefer Herbert von Karajan conducting the 1987 New Year's Concert [CD|DVD]. Karajan elicits more relaxed playing from the orchestra, whereas Kleiber pushes every piece to peak intensity. I consider both performances to be indispensable. (Kleiber conducted for this event again in 1992 [CD|DVD].)"