World of the gods – world of the earthly elements: Herbert von Karajan has succeeded in forcefully underscoring the contrast between the world of the gods and the earthly realm. The ‘Rhinegold’ already bears within it a foreboding of the ‘Götterdämmerung’. In the Prelude, man – the hero – does not yet appear; what checks the power of the gods are the earthly elements: fire, water and earth. Wotan only appears to be victorious when he enters Valhalla with his fellow gods. The actual victor is Loge. Based on a production from the Salzburg Easter Festival, Georges Wakhevitch has produced stage settings and transformations that support Karajan’s concept with every possible means. The depths of the Rhine are dynamic and full of natural motion, but the inside of the earth – Nibelheim – with its corridors and vaults which lead to Alberich’s realm, also has something organically proliferating about it. With his singers – foremost among them Peter Schreier – Karajan has an ensemble that fully conforms to his intentions. Thomas Stewart is a nobly singing Wotan. Next to him is the grandiose Brigitte Fassbaender als Fricka, a profoundly embittered figure.
Don Carlo
Based on Schiller’s play of the same name, Don Carlo is Verdi’s most ambitious work, written for the Paris Opéra in 1865–66 in the tradition of a French grand opera. This legendary production from the Salzburg Easter Festival is directed by Herbert von Karajan. With its extraordinary vocal cast, the wonderful set design and costumes it is truly one of the most memorable opera performances.
Verdi: Messa da Requiem
The history of Verdi’s Messa da Requiem’s interpretation is inextricably bound up with the name of Herbert von Karajan. He conducted the work on countless occasions and in this legendary concert he performed it with some of the greatest singers of that time: Anna Tomowa-Sintow, Agnès Baltsa, José Carreras, and José van Dam. Verdi wrote his Messa da Requiem in 1873/74, between Aida and Otello, for Alessandro Manzoni, a poet whom he much admired. Verdi’s Mass for the Dead is not intended for liturgical use but for the concert hall. In addition to its profound spirituality, this masterpiece brings together the finest qualities from Verdi’s operas: endless melodic lines and captivating musico-dramatic effects.
Don Giovanni
When Herbert von Karajan conducted Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni at the Salzburg Festival in 1987 featuring an outstanding cast of singers, the fantastic Wiener Philharmoniker and staged by Michael Hampe, it became a legendary performance of the highest artistic level. This dream of artistic collaboration made it one of the best opera performances, which now is available for the first time on Blu-ray.
Falstaff
Based, in part, on Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor, Falstaff is Verdi’s last work for the stage – and only his second comic opera. And yet the humour in this multilayered masterpiece is distinctly wry, for all the main characters exhibit an array of human weaknesses that are implacably exposed by Verdi and his librettist Arrigo Boito. In this legendary performance from the Salzburg Festival 1982, Herbert von Karajan is not only leading a stunning cast of singers featuring the Wiener Philharmoniker, he too directed the opera, in the amazing set design of Günther Schneider-Siemssen.
Great Conductors
Four documentaries about the some of the greatest conductors of all time, Herbert von Karajan, Sir Georg Solti, Leonard Bernstein and Carlos Kleiber Available on Blu-ray for the first time. BD 1 Carlos Kleiber – I am lost to the World; BD 2 Sir Georg Solti – Journey of a lifetime + Solti conducts the Chicago Symphony Orchestra; BD 3 Leonard Bernstein – Larger Than Life (prizewinning Documentary); BD 4 Herbert von Karajan – Maestro for the Screen + Karajan conducts Berliner Philharmoniker
Herbert von Karajan, Wiener Philharmoniker & Berliner Philharmoniker
The New Year´s Concert from the Golden Hall of the Musikverein Vienna with the Wiener Philharmoniker is always one of the best-selling classical albums each year. In 1987 Herbert von Karajan conducted his only performance of the New Year´s Concert performing famous pieces from Johann Strauss I, Johann Strauss II and Josef Strauss. As soloist in one piece you can hear the legendary soprano Kathleen Battle. The New Year´s Eve Concert 1988 was one of the last concerts that Herbert von Karajan gave with the Berliner Philharmoniker in Berlin. For this concert he invited the 17 year old Evgeny Kissin to his debut with the orchestra. After the concert the press did raving reviews about Kissin´s musicality and technical skills and he proves till today that he is one of the best pianists of our time. It was barely half a year after this concert, on July 16, 1989, that Herbert von Karajan passed away. The present recording thus forms an essential document of two highlights in the last years of the maestro’s life. One of many such documents that have made this great conductor immortal.
Anne-Sophie Mutter, Herbert von Karajan, Berliner Philharmoniker
For the first time available on Blu-ray is this extraordinary artistic collaboration of three super stars: Herbert von Karajan, Anne-Sophie Mutter and the Berlin Philharmonic perform three popular violin concertos, filmed in 1984 and 1987 at the legendary Philharmonie Berlin. The very famous Beethoven Violin Concerto, the cardinal work in the violin repertoire, was filmed with 21-year old Anne-Sophie Mutter in 1984. In 1987 Karajan, together with Anne-Sophie Mutter and the Berlin Philharmonic, inaugurated the Chamber Music Hall at Berlin Philharmonie with this festive performance of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons. And New Year´s Eve concert in 1984 celebrated the 300th birthday of Johann Sebastian Bach. These concerts show that Karajan, throughout his career, championed the use of visual media and new audio technology to enhance musical expression.
Karajan conducts Mozart & Dvorák
Combining the forces of two of the 20th century´s greatest musicians – Yehudi Menuhin and Herbert von Karajan in their only recorded performance together – this magnificent programme marks a high point in filmed classical music. Both features, Mozart´s Violin Concerto No. 5 and Dvorák´s “New World” Symphony, were directed by master film-maker and long-time Karajan collaborator Henri-Georges Clouzot (The Wages of Fear).
Bonus: Herbert von Karajan in conversation with Yehudi Menuhin (on Mozart) and Prof. Joachim Kaiser (on Dvorák). Special bonus feature: Previously unreleased rehearsal session prior to Violin Concerto No. 5!
Anne-Sophie Mutter
This portrait of the protégé of the late Herbert von Karajan – who, when she was only thirteen years old, proclaimed her “the greatest youthful musical talent since the young Menuhin” – shows her in performance, and talking in interview at her home in Kitzbühel about her life and her ideas on music. She is seen in concert at London’s Barbican Centre playing Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D Op. 35, as well as sonatas by Ravel, Franck, Tartini, Sarasate and Beethoven.