Carlos Kleiber - Beethoven symphony No.7, Op.92 : mov.4

No doubt the greatest symphony ever written.

I hear everything. He brings out all those woodwind parts when most conductors are probably preoccuppied with the strings. Incredible. Kleiber is the best ever, basically.

My eyes have been completely opened by Kleiber--he is THE biggest surprise to me since I began watching YouTube. As a professional musician, I had of course of course heard his name, as well as his father's, but knew little of Carlos' actual performances or recordings.
I truly believe him to be the greatest conductor since Furtwängler and perhaps the most innately inspired conductor in my experience. He lives and breathes the music, He is one with it. Pity I did not know this while he was alive

It's all just a big joke to him, idn't?

Fascinating to compare Kleiber's different readings of the same piece. He had very different ideas every time, and somehow they're all the best. It's impossible for me to choose one over the other.

Oh of course. It's like when I bought the Salonen Beethoven 5th recording, and then after went to see it live. Same orchestra, same conductor, but of course, it's a different performance, so it's completely different altogether. It's like Horowitz said, you play it a certain way one time, and then a different way the other, you improvise. Or even Yefim Bronfman said, when he plays Rachmaninoff's 3rd concerto, he approaches it each time as if he's had no history with the piece.

Superb! Now, that's conducting at it's best!

Excellent spirit!!
A hair too fast for my taste though...

Kleiber always speeds up at the end and makes it a bit fast, but are you saying even his beginning tempo is fast?? I mean, it IS Allegro! :P

The rhythmic power at the end is something to be admired - rushing it a little takes away from that.

But this is still one of my favorite B7 recordings. Normally I'm not a Kleiber fan either.