Charles Barber is artistic director of City Opera Vancouver. He is
the author of Lost in the Stars: The Forgotten Musical Life of
Alexander Siloti (Scarecrow, 2002). More information can be seen on
his website www.correspondingwithcarlos.com
There's much, much more to Kleiber than the myth-making. At least
there is now, thanks to Charles Barber's astonishing new book,
Corresponding with Carlos: A Biography of Carlos Kleiber. Charles
had a unique relationship with Kleiber. As a conducting student at
Stanford University, with dazzling boldness and naivety, he wrote
to Kleiber out of the blue and said he wanted to study with him.
The key was Barber's use of humour and irony to attempt to elicit a
response from Kleiber – it worked. Barber never formally became a
student of Kleiber's (nobody ever did), but from 1989 until the
maestro's death, he corresponded with the supposedly unknowable
Carlos, and as well as vivid account of Kleiber's life, Barber's
book publishes pretty well the complete letters he received. And
they're a revelation. Kleiber proves as virtuosically funny and
self-deprecating as he was incandescent on the podium....Barber's
book does more than any other I know to simultaneously reveal the
truth behind the Kleiber myths and to illuminate the deeper mystery
of how his recordings and films continue to have such a talismanic
power. This is a brilliant summary of Kleiber's way of making
music.
*The Guardian*
Barber is artistic director of City Opera Vancouver, with a
longstanding, busy career in California music life, including
contributions to Classical Voice. Corresponding With Carlos: A
Biography of Carlos Kleiber offers unique insights into how Kleiber
worked. This biography considers his singular aesthetic, his
playful and often erudite sense of humor, his reputation for
perfectionism, his much-studied baton technique, and the famous
concert and opera performances he conducted. It explores the great
conductor’s musical lineage and the contemporary contexts in which
he worked.
*San Francisco Classical Voice*
Once the book turns from biographical sketch to lively
correspondence, we get the thrill of reading—hearing—the voice of
Carlos Kleiber, and all is light.
*The Wall Street Journal*
Charles Barber's book on Carlos Kleiber is fascinating, remarquable
and unexpected....Rich in details....it contains unique jewels as
one can appreciate Kleiber's encyclopedic knowledge....While
Charles Barber’s book is comprehensive, it is easy to read and the
author fascination and respect is palpable at every page....This is
probably the musical book of the year.
*ConcertoNet: The Classical Music Network*
Charles Barber’s Corresponding with Carlos: A Biography of Carlos
Kleiber represents an admiring younger conductor’s efforts, begun
during his graduate-student days, to draw out a brilliant but
eccentric and reclusive maestro through multiple layers of
correspondence.
*SymphonyNOW*
This is mainly a book so fascinating that for once the ‘impossible
to put down’ cliché is appropriate. Charles Barber was, in 1989, a
young music teacher and conductor who sent a short letter to
Kleiber, and to his amazement received a reply a few days later. He
wanted to be Kleiber’s student, but there could be no question of
that. Instead, they became frequent correspondents, and all of
Kleiber’s letters concerning music are published here, with enough
of Barber’s to make the exchanges intelligible….What makes
Kleiber’s correspondence with Barber especially interesting is that
Barber regularly sent Kleiber video cassettes of the great
conductors, eliciting a deluge of comments on their style,
greatness (or weaknesses), and their music. Kleiber’s criticism
alternates with his commentary on his own slender repertoire and
his growing distaste for conducting….The first 180 pages are
devoted to a biographical sketch, with many quotations from
letters: illuminating, but I doubt whether many readers will be
able to resist the temptation to leap ahead to the epistolary
section.
*BBC Music Magazine*
As a musician and old Kleiber fan, one cannot resist the temptation
to whole-heartedly recommend this book.
*Teatro Colón Magazine*
‘An artist par excellence’, and ‘creativity par exellence’ - those
are the definitions that come to mind when one thinks of Carlos
Kleiber. Each time he conducted, it seemed that the music was being
created anew that very moment in all its greatness, beauty and
freshness. How wonderful that now we have a book about this genius.
Bravo and many heartfelt thanks to Dr. Charles Barber for his
work!
*Evgeny Kissin, pianist*
Having heard most of the world's best conductors in the last 35
years, I can safely say that none brought so much passion, energy
and exquisite musicality and beauty to their work as did Carlos
Kleiber. La Bohéme and Der Rosenkavalier under his baton at the Met
will remain among my most treasured memories. In this fascinating
work Charles Barber offers a rare glimpse into the enigma that was
Carlos Kleiber.
*Valéry Ryvkin, conductor*
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