Premiered in 1806, Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in D Major paved the way for three great violin concertos of the 19th and 20th centuries: Brahms, Tchaikovsky, and Sibelius. Extremely expressive and astonishing in it emotional scope, the work nonetheless received an ambivalent response at its premiere. Renowned for his knowledge of Beethoven’s oeuvre, the conductor Herbert von Karajan and the Berliner Philharmoniker are joined by the virtuoso violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter for a masterful performance.
Beethoven Cycle – Symphony No. 9
Official anthem of the European Union since 1985, the final movement of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 (nicknamed the “Ode to Joy”) has become a symbol of peace and brotherhood. Although the Viennese public failed to appreciate a number of the composer’s later works, the premiere of the Ninth Symphony proved to be an incredible triumph for the ailing Beethoven—suffering by that time from total deafness, but nonetheless well enough to be present in the hall to enjoy his creation’s success. Experience the beloved masterwork in this powerful performance by Karajan and the Berliner Philharmoniker!
Beethoven Cycle – Symphony No. 8
Premiered in Vienna in 1814, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8 is colored by a remarkably joyful atmosphere. Could it have been related to the composer’s recent cure in Teplice (near Prague), where he had become friends with a certain German singer? Composed during the summer just after his Seventh Symphony, the Eighth’s first performance was met with a lukewarm reception. Maestro Karajan and the Berliner Philharmoniker come together here for a masterful performance.
Beethoven Cycle – Symphony No. 7
Incredibly popular since the day of its premiere (conducted by Beethoven himself!), the Seventh Symphony is one of the composer’s most rhythmic and dancing works. Maestro Karajan, great connoisseur of the composer’s work, and the Berliner Philharmoniker present here a truly exceptional interpretation.
Beethoven Cycle – Symphony No. 6 “Pastoral”
In 1805, Beethoven wrote to a dear friend in anticipation of a visit to the countryside about “how delighted I shall be to ramble for a while through bushes, woods, under trees, through grass, and around rocks! No one can love the country as much as I do. For surely woods, trees, and rocks produce the echo which man desires to hear.” Just three years later, his magnificent homage to nature, the celebrated Symphony No. 6, received its premiere. Baptised as the “Pastoral” Symphony by Beethoven himself, the work comes to life in this brilliant interpretation by the great Maestro Karajan and the Berliner Philharmoniker.
Beethoven Cycle – Symphony No. 5
“It’s very big, absolutely crazy!” cried Goethe when he heard Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. The conductor Herbert von Karajan—a true connoisseur of Beethoven’s work—and the Berliner Philharmoniker present here an exceptional interpretation of the Symphony No. 5. Despite suffering from worsening deafness at the time of the masterpiece’s composition, Beethoven persevered and would succesfully complete his project of a large orchestral work defined by four fateful notes… as he would later explain this particular musical obsession, “this is the way that destiny knocks at the door”!
Beethoven Cycle – Symphony No. 4
Celebrated for his interpretations of Beethoven’s oeuvre, the great conductor Herbert von Karajan conducts the Berliner Philharmoniker in the composer’s Fourth Symphony. When Beethoven visited the summer residence of the famed Viennese musical patron Prince Lichnowsky, the Count Franz von Oppersdorff met the composer and fell under the spell of his Second Symphony. He offered Beethoven a considerable sum of money to compose a new symphony in the same joyous mood as the Second, leading to the genesis of the Symphony No. 4, which in turn was dedicated to Oppersdorff himself.
Beethoven Cycle – Symphony No. 3 “Eroica”
The great Beethoven specialist Herbert von Karajan leads the Berliner Philharmoniker in a once-in-a-lifetime interpretation of Beethoven’s beloved Symphony No. 3. A great admirer of the young French Republic’s ideal of liberty at the turn of the 19th century, the composer initially dedicated what was called the “Bonaparte” Symphony to the diminutive French general. Unfortunately, Beethoven’s anger and disappointment at learning that the liberator had turned into an authoritarian emperor—as Victor Hugo would put it, “the Napoleon was starting to show behind the Bonaparte” (i.e. the tyrant was beginning to show through the hero)—led him to re-baptize the symphony as the “Eroica” and dedicate it to his patron, the Prince Joseph Franz von Lobkowitz. The energy of Beethoven’s heroic gesture is incarnated in a work that intrepidly breaks with its symphonic predecessors.
Beethoven Cycle – Symphony No. 2
Experience the captivating musical partnership of the Berliner Philharmoniker under Herbert von Karajan in this exceptional performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 2. Relatively obscure because of the incredible legacy of the symphonies that followed it, the Second was composed around the time when Beethoven learned that the deafness beginning to envelope him could never be cured… a dark moment captured in his Heiligenstadt Testament, an emotional letter written to his brothers in which he confided his desperation and suicidal thoughts. Dedicated to his patron, the former Mozart student Karl Lichnowsky, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 2 is shaped by the symphonic tradition founded by Mozart, whose works the younger composer greatly admired. The Second marks the end of a musical age and the dawning of a new epoque for the symphonic genre, with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 “Eroica” coming just around the corner…
Missa solemnis
Longstanding artistic collaborators, the conductor Herbert von Karajan and the Berliner Philharmoniker present a magnificent performance of one of Beethoven’s greatest masterpieces. At the age of 54 in 1824, Beethoven was at the height of his art: he would premiere both his Missa Solemnis and his celebrated Ninth Symphony in the same year! Despite total deafness, it is a testament to the brilliance of his works that they would influence European contemporary composers of all stripes, from Rossini and Schubert to Weber and Liszt. Beethoven suffered from illness constantly beginning in 1825, eventually dying two years later during a violent storm.