Spotlight Lehár: “The Merry Widow”
It is a strange case. Karajan conducted Franz Lehár’s “The Merry Widow” only once in his career for a recording. No live performances at all...
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Composers
Spotlight Mussorgsky: “Boris Godunov”
Modest Mussorgsky’s “Boris Godunov” is the only Russian opera that Karajan conducted in its entirety. As a pioneer in performing and recording operas in their original language he managed to assemble a cast...
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Spotlight Beethoven: The solo concertos
Karajan conducted Beethoven’s works almost a thousand times(!) in concert. Of course, he included the solo concertos although he may not have been as dedicated to them as he was to the symphonies...
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Spotlight Schumann: The Fourth Symphony
The Fourth was Karajan’s favourite Schumann symphony. This is quite unusual. The “Spring Symphony” and the “Rhenish” are generally much more popular. More than that: the Fourth...
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Spotlight Grieg: Suites and the piano concerto
Karajan’s approach to Edvard Grieg was an “economical” one and took place almost completely in the studio...
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Spotlight Puccini: “La Bohème”
Karajan conducted many works whose interpretations were considered to be milestones. But even in his repertoire there are few pieces...
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Spotlight Dvořák: Symphony “From the New World”
It was the second symphony that Karajan ever recorded and the second-ever recording he made with the Berlin Philharmonic in 1940...
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Spotlight Bach: The St Matthew Passion
Today, Karajan may not be widely seen as a specialist for Bach’s music but Karajan admired his oeuvre deeply and worked on it throughout his career...
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Spotlight Mahler: The Fifth Symphony
Karajan’s approach to Mahler was a lengthy business. It may have taken so long not only for repertoire reasons but also because of a resemblance between the two men’s biographies...
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Spotlight Johann Strauss: “Die Fledermaus”
Karajan’s affinity to the operetta is not generally well-known but its elegance, wit and pure melodical quality was something he couldn’t resist. Of course, his preference in this genre...
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