Gramophone Awards Winner 2011 - DVD Documentary Wholenote Discoveries - November 2011
“I am lost to the world” (Cmajor DVD 705608) is an extraordinarily moving DVD which attempts, successfully so, to outline the life and career of Carlos Kleiber and perhaps understand why he was predictably unpredictable. He was well known for not showing up or walking out of rehearsals, not showing up for concerts, and generally eccentric, unprofessional behaviour. By the end of this barely sixty minute presentation the viewer can somehow empathise with him and understand him... well, not really but get very close or imagine that you do. We see him as the son of the exalted conductor, Erich Kleiber who was, as we have been told elsewhere, also moody and easily offended. There can be no doubt that the son outdid the father in his quest for perfection (as he saw it) in the finished performance. He abhorred the press and the glitz that went with being a superstar. He is seen in rehearsals and in a non-commercial video of what seems to be a final run-through of Tristan at Bayreuth. The intensity is electrifying. Players from the Vienna Philharmonic and others give us a fair idea of the man, illustrated by videos of rehearsals and performances. His stick technique and his whole “body technique” were exuberant and flamboyant, communicating to the players exactly what he wanted to hear. It is a revelation for us in the audience to see what the musicians saw. The title of this DVD, Ich bin der Welt elt abhanden gekommen (I am lost to the World) is the title of the third song from Mahler’s Rückert Lieder. A second documentary on Kleiber, “Traces to Nowhere,” covers much of the same ground and interviews some of the same witnesses but also others. We learn that he visited Karajan’s grave every time he went to Salzburg. These interviews flesh out the sequence of events and often fill in the gaps between one incident or another and the ensuing behaviour that, to an outsider would appear to be thoughtless and uncalled for. Both films take us to Kleiber’s final hours but I am lost to the world left me feeling very sad for him. Both films are recommendable and are complementary. As a footnote... a friend of mine in England, when in the employ of a major record company, received a letter from Kleiber expressing his admiration for, and the earnest desire to conduct, Gilbert and Sullivan. Bruce Surtees
