Horowitz in Vienna

One of Horowitz’s final performances, recorded at the Golden Hall of the Musikverein, Vienna/Austria in May 1987 including: Mozart, Rondo K.485, Piano Sonata No.13 K.333; Schubert, Impromptu D899-3; Liszt/Schubert, Soirees de Vienne: Valse-Caprice No.6; Schumann, Kinderszenen Op.15; Chopin, Mazurka Op.33, Polonaise Heroique Op.53; Liszt, Consolation No.3; Schubert, Moment musical D780; Moszkowski, Etincelles Op.36-6

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.

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!

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!

Also sprach Zarathustra

In 1968, 2001: A Space Odyssey’s unforgettable opening scene made Richard Strauss’s symphonic poem Also sprach Zarathustra (“Thus spoke Zarathustra”) one of the best-known pieces of classical music ever. Filmmaker Stanley Kubrick chose the recording of Karajan with the Wiener Philharmoniker, but this performance from 1987—part of the 750th anniversary celebration of Berlin’s founding—features Karajan’s other preferred artistic partner, the Berliner Philharmoniker. Monumental and lyric, the magnificent symphonic poem pays tribute to Nietzsche’s eponymous work that explores human nature and existence.