Carlos Kleiber Essentials

This 20th-century conductor of the Vienna Philharmonic wasn't what you'd call enamored with recordings; his discography of approximately two dozen albums is one of the smallest among musicians of his stature. But Kleiber made every studio appearance count, often with interpretations that recommend themselves as first-stop destinations—a feat that's more impressive when you consider that he took on some of the most familiar works in the repertoire. (Like Beethoven's Fifth—maybe you've heard of it?) He excelled in Italian opera (as with Verdi's La traviata and Otello), but also stretched into the modern era with multiple accounts of Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier.