克萊巴可說是二十世紀下半葉最具魅力的指揮家之一。他的錄音數量不多,但是張張經典,也是愛樂者必備的珍藏。
1973年與德勒斯登國家管弦樂團錄製的韋伯《魔彈射手》,是克萊巴事業上重要的里程碑。克萊巴花了三個星期的時間排練後錄音,一上市就獲得極大的回響。除了陣容堅強的聲樂家,克萊巴處理韋伯管弦樂時,讓人難以置信的張力讓它時至今日,依然是同曲目的指標。
接下來,克萊巴陸續與維也納愛樂錄下貝多芬第五、七號交響曲,布拉姆斯第四號交響曲與舒伯特第三、八號交響曲,其中最讓人吃驚的,就是貝多芬《命運》交響曲。克萊巴以精準的手法,把它演奏得像是一首全新的曲子。雖然DG最終未能依計畫為克萊巴與維也納愛樂錄製貝多芬九首交響曲,但是五、七號兩部錄音,已經為克萊巴,也為唱片史再造新的里程碑。
1970年代,克萊巴在巴伐利亞國立歌劇院指揮由宣克重新製作的兩部歌劇,分別是《蝙蝠》與《茶花女》, 稍後與劇院的管弦樂團、不同的聲樂家在DG錄下這兩部作品。而克萊巴在DG的最後一套錄音,是1982年與德勒斯登國家管弦樂團合作的華格納《崔斯坦與伊索德》。雖然克萊巴因為要求的排練次數與錄音時數造成爭議,導至他對最後的結果不滿意,勉強同意唱片發行後,結束與DG的合作關係,但是瑪格麗特‧普萊絲可說是唱片史上最美麗的「伊索德」,搭配與之旗鼓相當的柯羅,這部唱片的價值,並沒有因為克萊巴認為的「不足」而失色。
這一套限量版專輯,以12張CD加上兩張藍光CD,完整收錄克萊巴在DG錄製的七套錄音。除了《崔斯坦與伊索德》,其他曲目都重新後製為24 bit。精裝解說冊除有完整軌序、英國樂評人克來門斯的文章還有克萊巴與其他藝術家在錄音期間的珍貴照片。
【曲目】
REPERTOIRE
CD1. BEETHOVEN: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 7
Wiener Philharmoniker
“Mercurial, thrilling accounts of two warhorses from the unique Carlos Kleiber.” — GRAMOPHONE
CD2. BRAHMS: Symphony No. 4
Wiener Philharmoniker
“Brahms's Fourth Symphony, full of detail and with an extraordinary sense of architectural logic, has not been surpassed since.” — THE GUARDIAN (UK)
CD3. SCHUBERT: Symphonies Nos. 3 & 8 ‘Unfinished’
Wiener Philharmoniker
“Schubert’s "Unfinished" with the Vienna Philharmonic is testimony enough to [Kleiber’s] genius … [a] benchmark performance: it has never sounded more perfectly complete.” — INDEPENDENT (UK)
CDs4/5. J. STRAUSS: Die Fledermaus
Bavarian State Orchestra
“Better than any other production …it is impossible not to love.” — DIAPASON (FRANCE)
CD4. VERDI: La Traviata
Bavarian State Orchestra
“This set's probably still difficult to beat when it comes to studio recordings in (good) stereo sound, and it's a 'classic' in its own right.” — GRAMOPHONE
“It's hard to imagine a much better "Traviata", let alone a better-conducted one.” — INTERNATIONAL RECORD REVIEW
CDs8/10WAGNER: Tristan und Isolde
Staatskapelle Dresden
“No subsequent recording, and there have been quite a few, equals this …” — BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE
CDs11/12WEBER: Der Freischütz - Act 2, Scene 4 - 6 & Act 3
Staatskapelle Dresden
“… None has quite matched Carlos Kleiber's 1973 version, both for its cast and its brilliant realisation of Weber's wonderfully atmospheric orchestral textures.” — THE DAILY TELEGRAPH (UK)