Between the 13 years from 1935 to 1948 he spent in South America and his death at 65 in 1956, there was little time for Erich Kleiber to spend much of it recording. That he deliberately chose to record infrequently merely makes his legacy that much slimmer. Thus this coupling of Kleiber's Köln Beethoven's Fifth Symphony from 1955 and his Stockholm Missa Solemnis from 1948 adds not only a live performance of a Kleiber favorite but a whole new work to his slender discography. The characteristics that made Kleiber the ...
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Between the 13 years from 1935 to 1948 he spent in South America and his death at 65 in 1956, there was little time for Erich Kleiber to spend much of it recording. That he deliberately chose to record infrequently merely makes his legacy that much slimmer. Thus this coupling of Kleiber's Köln Beethoven's Fifth Symphony from 1955 and his Stockholm Missa Solemnis from 1948 adds not only a live performance of a Kleiber favorite but a whole new work to his slender discography. The characteristics that made Kleiber the conductor he was -- the driving Allegros, the contemplative Adagios, the clean attack, the sculpted sound, and the complete control of tempo and form -- are in full evidence in both performances. Regrettably, Kleiber's forces are not altogether up to the challenge. The Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir, plus a determined quartet of soloists including the young Birgit Nilsson, do their best in the Missa Solemnis, but even with extended rehearsal time, they couldn't give Kleiber the...
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