When, in the mid 1960s, Herbert von Karajan decided to record on film all nine Beethoven symphonies with the Berlin Philharmonic, he began with the “Fifth” and asked the famous French movie director Henri-Georges Clouzot (Quai des Orfèvres) to direct. Recognizing in the music-loving director a kindred soul and master of the symbolic image, Karajan found an inspired partner. In another of Karajan’s first efforts, he asked six directors to “stage” one movement each of a Beethoven symphony. For a full week, the directors had the Berlin Philharmonic and Herbert von Karajan – all in full dress – at their disposal, with all the 35mm film, cameras, lighting and technical assistance they needed. Karajan’s most controversial production was Hugo Niebeling’s highly personal interpretation of the “Pastorale”, with its abstract shots of instruments, rapid rhythms, fade-ins and symbolically arranged colors.
Rehearsal for Schumann, Symphony No.4, op.120
Karajan or Beauty As I See It
Who was Herbert von Karajan? What lurks behind the enigmatic face of this man, on whom more has been written than on any other member of his profession? For many, he was the epitome of classical music, for others the embodiment of the music market. He was the last dictator among orchestral conductors, and the first successful large-scale music entrepreneur. And in everything he did, he was ahead of his time. This documentary is the first to truly penetrate behind Karajan’s regal façade. The program is structured along the personal recollections and interviews, the rehearsals and concerts of the maestro. Much of the material has been drawn from the archives of Unitel, the firm that produced his music films for 12 years. This footage is supplemented by many candid and revealing comments by some of the men and women who accompanied him on his path to legendary status. The result is a multi-faceted, multi-layered portrait of the artist – a portrait that ultimately deepens the mystery of one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century.
Karajan The Second Life
The film ‘Karajan – The Second Life’ offers a fascinating glimpse of the reality of Karajan’s work in the recording studio, painting a nuanced portrait of the conductor and his musical ideas. The main focus is on the question of what will remain of Karajan, who recorded more albums than any other musician, and of his incomparably ambitious artistic legacy. The film includes a wealth of archival footage never shown before (about 90% of the music excerpts shown have never been released before), depicting Karajan during rehearsals and recording sessions, including works that have not been shown under his baton previously on film or TV (e.g. Le Sacre du printemps and Siegfried). Renowned colleagues and contemporaries of Karajan are interviewed: Anne-Sophie Mutter, Peter Alward, David Bell, Brigitte Fassbaender, Eberhard Finke, Wolfgang Gülich, Hans Hirsch, Klaus König, Krzysztof Polonek, Ernst Pöppel, Godehard Pruin, Klaus Stoll, Peter Uehling, Hans Weber and Andrew Wedman. Excerpts from privately recorded phone conversations between Karajan and his recording producer Günter Hermanns were evaluated exclusively for this film, conveying an authentic insight into the way Karajan worked with his team.
New Year’s Eve Concert 1988
Salzburg, August 1988: the 17-year-old Evgeny Kissin meets the legendary conductor Karajan for a private audition, and his performance of a Chopin Fantasy brings the maestro to tears. A few months later, Kissin is at his side to perform Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto as part of a New Year’s Eve concert in Berlin. The success would follow the pianist for years to come: as he put it, “the miracle happened again. Still today, people speak to me about this concert.” (L’Express). Experience the archival film footage of his acclaimed performance from that day, which captures not just the astonishing virtuosity of a young Kissin, but also Karajan’s last appearance with his orchestra the Berliner Philharmoniker. Just seven months later, this “monster of classical music” (France Musique) would pass away at the age of 81.
Karajan conducts the Tannhäuser Overture
This outstanding recording of Wagner’ Tannhäuser Overture with Herbert von Karajan and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra was made live at the 1987 Salzburg Festival.
Karajan in Salzburg
This film shows Herbert von Karajan rehearsing Don Giovanni and a Wagner concert for the Salzburg Festival. It is a deeply moving tribute to one of the greatest musicians of the century. As one of the highlights: Karajan and Jessye Norman performing Isolde’s Liebestod.
Herbert von Karajan – Maestro for the Screen
Herbert von Karajan was the important conductor, who created film and later video productions on his own responsibility. „I am actually born too early“, he said, well knowing, that the video possibilities were still in their very beginnings. Georg Wuebbolt made interviews with Karajan’s team: his Director of photography, his cutter, his secretary, his producer and musicians of Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. This documentary includes outstanding performance material from the Unitel and Telemondial library, as well as unreleased digitally remastered excerpts from the legendary
RBB (SFB) and ORF archive.
Karajan conducts Strauss Tone Poems
In 1984, Herbert von Karajan and the Berliner Philharmoniker presented an unusual concert program of two contrasting yet complimentary works by Richard Strauss: the early symphonic poem Death and Transfiguration and the mature masterpiece Metamorphoses. Stretching the limits of Romanticism, Death and Transfiguration depicts the final moments of a sick man who reflects back on his life before his death. In the abstract musical exploration Metamorphoses, the composer draws inspiration from previous generations’ compositional approaches to push musical limits, taking counterpoint to new heights with this piece written in 23 independent sections. With their signature sonic intensity, the famed Austrian conductor and the Berliner Philharmoniker give a truly captivating performance.
Karajan conducts Tchaikovsky 4
Tchaikovsky described his Fourth Symphony in a letter to Nadezhda von Meck as “perhaps the best I have written so far”. With allusions to Beethoven’s Fifth and an obsessive exploration of the idea of destiny (introduced the imposing initial fanfare), the symphony took shape at toward the beginning of Tchaikovsky’s platonic relationship with Nadezhda von Meck, the wealthy widow who became the composer’s patron, and to whom the work is dedicated. The Symphony’s premiere on February 10, 1878 in Moscow under the baton of Nikolai Rubenstein was met with a lukewarm audience reception, yet despite this difficult start, the work was performed a month later in St. Petersburg to an adoring public who demanded an encore! Herbert von Karajan and the Wiener Philharmoniker perform the work with all the energy, rigor, and subtlety for which they were celebrated.