Carlos Kleiber was one of the most acclaimed conductors of the 20th century. Always distrustful of publicity, he ultimately found peace and quiet in Slovenia, where he is now buried.
In 1930, Carlos Kleiber was born Karl Ludwig Bonifacius Kleiber in Berlin, Germany. He was the son of the famed Austrian conductor Erich Kleiber and his American wife. Because the family was anti-Nazi, they immigrated to Argentina, where the young Kleiber became known as Carlos, the name that he kept for the rest of his life.
At first, it appeared that Carlos Kleiber would not follow in his father’s footsteps. After the war, he returned to Europe and began to study chemistry in Zurich. His love of music ultimately won out, however, and it quickly became apparent that his talent was a great as his father’s.
Kleiber first made a name for himself conducting in theaters and operas throughout the German-speaking world. His inventive style – praised for combining German precision with a distinctly Latin flair – got him invited to some of the world’s most prestigious venues, including the New York Metropolitan Opera, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, London’s Royal Opera House, and La Scala in Milan.
Despite the high performance fees offered to Kleiber, he managed his career on his own terms. He decided to work mostly with the Bavarian State Opera, and was choosy about accepting invitations. He even declined an offer to take over the Berlin Philharmonic after the retirement of the famed Herbert von Karajan.
Known as somewhat of a recluse, Kleiber only gave a single interview during the course of his career, and his personal life remained somewhat of a mystery. However, his attachment to Slovenia was well-known.
When living in Düsseldorf, Kleiber fell in love with a Slovenian ballet student named Stanislava Brezovar. The two fell in love and they married in 1961. They bought a vacation home in the village of Konjšica, not far from Stanislava’s hometown. Kleiber fell in love with the landscape of the area and established warm bonds with his wife’s family.
In December 2002, Stanislava Kleiber passed away, and her husband slipped into a severe depression. Seven months later, on July 17, 2003, Carlos Kleiber died while in Konjšica and, according with his wishes, was buried next to his wife in the local cemetery. He was 74 years old.
His grave has since become a pilgrimage site for music lovers from around the world, and in 2010, the great conductor Riccardo Mutti gave a concert in Ljubljana in Kleiber’s honor. A memorial room in the couple’s vacation home has also been opened to the public. It serves as a reminder that one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century chose to make Slovenia his final home.
