On June 7, 2026, Günther Schneider-Siemssen would have celebrated his 100th birthday. Although he spent most of his career behind the scenes, few stage designers were as closely associated with the visual world of Herbert von Karajan as he was. Over nearly three decades, conductor and designer developed a distinctive…
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“We know what we are, but know not what we may be.” — Ophelia, Hamlet, Act IV, Scene 5 The cover image is inspired by Friedrich Heyser’s painting Ophelia, the tragic heroine of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Ophelia speaks these words shortly before her death, reflecting on the uncertainty of human life.…
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Jealousy is one of the most destructive human emotions, so it is no surprise that composers have returned to it again and again. This playlist explores how different artists transformed this green-eyed monster into music. From family tensions in the classical era to violent confrontations on the opera stage, these…
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First Encounters with La Scala When La Scala reopened in May 1946 after the destruction of the Second World War, Arturo Toscanini conducted a concert that quickly became a symbol of cultural reconstruction in Europe. In the years that followed, the Milan opera house entered a new international phase —…
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Motherhood appears surprisingly often in classical music — just rarely in direct form. Composers often approach the subject through lullabies, prayers, childhood memories, or music connected to comfort and protection. Brahms, for example, added the most personal movement of his German Requiem shortly after his mother died in 1865. And…
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What does “home” mean? In English, the word usually refers to a private space—the place where someone lives. The German word Heimat works differently. It can describe a region, a country, or a shared cultural environment. This difference is not accidental. Linguists often point out that languages develop words for…
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The piano concerto is one of the central genres of the 19th century. Around 1800, it still followed a clear model: the orchestra introduces the material, the soloist responds, and virtuosity plays a central role. Over the course of the century, this balance begins to change. Starting with Beethoven, the…
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The Salzburg Easter Festival was founded in 1967 by Herbert von Karajan and takes place annually over a period of around ten days between the Saturday before Palm Sunday and Easter Monday. From the beginning, it combined staged opera productions with orchestral and choral concerts within a single, concentrated timeframe.…
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The relationship between gods and men is one of the oldest themes in human thought. Myths describe gods who rule the world, religion speaks of a single divine presence, and philosophy questions how humans relate to both. Music has found different ways to approach this idea. It can present the…
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“An orchestra does not produce sound by itself — it must be shaped.” When Herbert von Karajan began working with the newly founded Orchestre de Paris, he encountered an ensemble still at the beginning of its story — and still discovering its own musical identity. The Orchestre de Paris gave its inaugural concert on 14 November 1967 under…
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Here you can download the full curriculum vitae of Herbert von Karajan!