The Austrian conductor Carlos Kleiber (1930–2004) only released nine studio recordings over the course of his five-decade career. He was famous for his elusiveness, often canceling concerts on short notice and appearing in only 96 orchestral concerts as well as about 620 opera performances. Equally as hesitant with recordings, Kleiber stated that "every unproduced record is a good record", and was described as not being able to "bear the thought of listeners sitting at home with a score in their hands… identifying every mistake". His nine studio recordings are of four operas and five symphonies published by Deutsche Grammophon, as well as a single piano concerto with EMI. Each became critically acclaimed in its own right, with those of Beethoven's 5th and 7th symphonies hailed as among the