Herbert von Karajan leads the Wiener Philharmoniker in Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony at Vienna’s Musikverein in this exceptional archival video footage. Premiered in 1888 with the conductor himself at the baton, the Symphony No. 5 proved popular with audiences while being heavily criticized by the press, hurting the composer emotionally. The work develops a single theme over the course of four movements in a similar fashion to the “Manfred” Symphony, written a few years previously. Beyond the work’s obvious beauty, the demanding and nuanced interpretation of Karajan allows us to appreciate its particular structural details as well.
Karajan conducts Tchaikovsky 6 “Pathetique”
Premiered in 1893 in St. Petersburg with Tchaikovsky on the podium, the Sixth Symphony—later nicknamed “Pathetique”—was met with lukewarm reception before achieving success a few months later under the baton of Napravnik, barely 9 days before the death of the composer! Dedicated to his nephew, Tchaikovsky explained that he had “put my whole soul into this work”, and a tragic aura has remained associated with his ultimate symphonic composition. Discover this powerful work in an exceptional performance with maestro Karajan at the head of the Wiener Philharmoniker.
Messa da Requiem
Herbert von Karajan recorded Verdi’s Requiem multiple times over the course of his career, such that it became one of the signature works of his repertoire. In this film, he brings together an exceptional group of some of the late 20th century’s greatest singers: Anna Tomowa-Sintow, Agnès Baltsa, José Carreras, and José van Dam. Composed between Aida and Otello, the Messa da Requiem is dedicated to his friend, the poet Alessandro Manzoni, who had participated in the Italian unification movement, the Risorgimento. The technically and artistically challenging work was described by Verdi’s contemporary, the conductor Hans von Bülow, as an “opera in ecclesiastical garb”, an interesting expression of the fascinating tension between the theatrical and the religious in this monumental chef-d’oeuvre.
The Four Seasons
“The greatest musical prodigy since the young Menuhin”: that’s how Herbert von Karajan described the talented violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter, barely 14 years old when he met her. Together they recorded the violin concertos of Mozart, Beethoven, and Brahms with the Berliner Philharmoniker. In this concert broadcast live in 1987 as part of the opening celebrations for Berlin Philharmonie’s Kammermusiksaal, the virtuoso violinist performed Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.
Karajan in Japan
Join the maestro Herbert von Karajan and the Berliner Philharmoniker for this eclectic and striking program featuring three masterpieces of the orchestral repertoire! The concert begins with Mozart’s Divertimento No. 17 in B-flat Major. Composed in 1777, the work incarnates Classicist ideals of with its apparent simplicity disguising great sophistication. Richard Strauss’s symphonic poem Don Juan follows: premiered in 1888, the work narrates the story of the famed libertine with a highly virtuosic score. The concert draws to a close with Ottorio Respighi’s Pines of Rome (1924), for which Karajan and the Berliner Philharmoniker prove to be the ideal interpreters of its complex and brilliant orchestration.
Coronation Mass & Ave Verum Corpus
Saturday, June 29, 1985: Herbert von Karajan and the Wiener Philharmoniker perform Mozart’s Coronation Mass with four of the greatest singers of the decade as part of a mass celebrated by Pope Jean Paul II at the St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Ten thousand cardinals, bishops, diplomats from the world over, Italian political figures, and important personalities from the cultural scene are present. Two years earlier in during the pope’s visit to Austria, it was Karajan himself who suggested performing Mozart’s work in a religious service to the great religious leader.
Berlin 750 Jahre – Opening Concert
Herbert von Karajan and the Berliner Philharmoniker perform Mozart’s captivating Divertimento in D Major—one of many highlights of the 35-year relationship between the conductor and the orchestra! In 1987 as part of the 750th anniversary of Berlin’s founding, this concert kicked off a series of celebrations in the German capital, a festive moment whose preparations in West and East Berlin were a subtle prelude to the events of 1989. With a length and instrumentation reminiscent of the composer’s symphonic works, the Divertimento’s structuring in an extended series of six movements and one-on-a-part texture are typical of the chamber music of the period. A masterpiece composed by the classical genius at the tender age of 16!
Mozart Requiem
Experience Mozart’s Requiem, founding work of the Western classical music canon, in one of the best performances ever captured on film featuring Herbert von Karajan, the Wiener Philharmoniker, and four brilliant soloists. Today, the Requiem is without a doubt one of Mozart’s most performed and beloved works, but its origins remain mysterious and its score left unfinished by the genius creator who prematurely died during its composition at the age of 35.
New Year’s Concert – Neujahrskonzert 1987
In 1987, Herbert von Karajan was chosen to conduct Vienna’s prestigious New Year’s concert, an iconic annual event that became particularly patriotic that evening when an Austrian conductor led the Wiener Philharmoniker in an all-Viennese concert program! Waltzes, polkas, and Strauss’s unforgettable Radetzky March shared a program with a scintillating vocal waltz called Springtime Voices sung by the masterful Kathleen Battle—the only vocal soloist ever invited in the history of the New Year’s Concert!
New Year‘s Eve Concert 1983
Herbert von Karajan leads the Berliner Philharmoniker in a concert program exploring the idea of homeland. Rossini’s William Tell tells the story of the legendary folk hero whose love for his son led him to confront the menacing Hapsburg invaders. The opera’s overture counts among classical music’s greatest hits. Next Smetana’s unforgettable melodies bring the beautiful Bohemian countryside near the banks of the Moldau river to life in his symphonic cycle “My Homeland” (Má vlast). Finnish composer Jean Sibelius’s Valse triste was originally written as incidental music for his brother-in-law’s play Kuolema (Death). The famed maestro presents an exquisite reading of these works before closing the program with two typically brilliant waltzes by the great Austrian waltz-master Johann Strauss: Delirien and the Overture to Der Zigeunerbaron.