Few cultural institutions in music history have acquired the aura of the Bayreuth Festival. Conceived by Richard Wagner as a festival devoted exclusively to his own works, it was intended to realise his vision of music drama under ideal artistic conditions. To bring this vision to life, Wagner commissioned the…
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For more than fifty years, Herbert von Karajan’s career was closely intertwined with the Salzburg Festival. While you are reading the full story, explore some of the recordings that accompanied this remarkable journey. The Birth of the Salzburg Festival Founded in 1920 in the aftermath of the First World War,…
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Track 1: Symphony No. 8 in B minor, D. 759 “Unfinished” – II. Andante con moto – Franz Schubert For a playlist dedicated to The Unfinished, there could hardly be a more fitting opening than Franz Schubert’s Symphony No. 8 in B minor, later nicknamed the “Unfinished”. Had it been…
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As we begin our journey into the theme of love in classical music, where better to start than at the very beginning? With first love. Few composers capture this magic as perfectly as Mozart does in Cherubino’s aria ......
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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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Here you can download the full curriculum vitae of Herbert von Karajan!