There have never been any recordings of
Schubert's Symphony in B minor or
Brahms' Symphony in E minor or
Wagner's Tristan und Isolde better than these recordings by
Carlos Kleiber. There have been recordings as great, recordings by
Furtwängler,
Walter,
Klemperer, or by
Carlos' father
Erich Kleiber, but for absolute intensity of concentration, for complete control of form, for total intellectual, emotional, physical, and spiritual immersion in the music, there have never been any recordings better than these by
Carlos Kleiber. And there probably never will be again:
Kleiber is dead and an epoch has passed and giants no longer walk the podiums of the earth. The power of
Kleiber's Schubert B minor is shattering in its tragedy and consoling in its lyricism. His
Brahms' E minor is overwhelming in its drama and overpowering in its strength. And his Tristan, of which these are only the highlights from Act Three, is cosmic, intimate, passionate, and endlessly, infinitely ecstatic. Deutsche Grammophon's late stereo and early digital sound has likewise been bettered.