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Herbert von Karajan |
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 Today, more than a decade after his death, opinion about Herbert van Karajan is sharply divided. To his many admirers, he was the most recognisable figure in post-war classical music, the great interpreter of the core symphonic and operatic repertoire from Beethoven onwards. To his record producers, he was their golden goose, the man who sold millions of records. To the orchestral players who worked under him, he was God Almighty, a charismatic conductor of immense power and influence. But to his detractors, he was vain, arrogant, manipulative, a man who used his power to malign ends, and who glossed over his youthful membership of the Nazi party. So who was the real Karajan?  CD Review - 5 Jul at 9amWith a bewildering array of re-makes and re-mastered recordings of his core repertoire in the current catalogue, where should the listener start in building a collection of the Karajan recorded legacy? Send in your suggestions  The Real Karajan - Sat 5 Jul at 12.15pmJames Jolly tries to get under the skin of this controversial musician. To discover the sound Karajan produced from his orchestras, his rehearsal methods, his magnetic personality, the image he projected through the media, and how the Second World War affected his early career.  Afternoon on 3 - Mon 7 to Fri 11 JulyAfternoon on 3 this week features rare radio archive recordings of Karajan conducting ‘his’ orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic as well as the Vienna Symphony and Philharmonic Orchestras and our own Philharmonia Orchestra.  Classical Collection - Mon 14 - Friday 18 Jul at 10amJames Jolly plays many of the recordings heard in The Real Karajan (broadcasting Saturday 5th July, 12.15pm) and features singers and instrumentalists associated with the maestro: Elizabeth Schwarzkopf in Falstaff, Leontyne Price in Il trovatore, lieder from Gundula Janowitz and Jose van Dam, Christian Ferras performing Berg's Violin Concerto and a Mozart Horn Concerto from Dennis Brain. Karajan himself conducts the Berlin Philharmonic in recordings which are now rightly regarded as classics: Strauss Metamorphosen, Debussy Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune and Honegger Symphony No.3 'Liturgique'. |
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On Radio 3 NowRelated Links on radio 3 on bbc.co.uk on the web Karajan at Wikipedia karajan.co.uk Karajan at Sony artists karajan.org Karajan at DGG Karajan conducts the Blue Danube The BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites. |
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