This Week in Classical Music: April 12, 2021.Karajan, Part II.Last week we paused our Karajan story somewhere around 1946.At the end of the war Herbert von Karajan, a member of the Nazi party from 1933 and Goering’s favorite, fled to Italy – with the help of the wonderful Italian conductor Victor de Sabata; he then returned to Austria to face the denazification commission and was cleared of any Nazi-related wrongdoings – this time with the help of his father-in law, whose daughter he would divorce soon after.In 1946 he met Walter Legge, the famous record producer and the founder of London’s Philharmonia Orchestra, with which Karajan started a very fruitful relationship.During that time, he also worked with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra (and sometimes with the Vienna Philharmonic), conducted at La Scala and made conducting appearances at the Bayreuth festivals.In 1955 he achieved a pinnacle (if not the pinnacle) of any conductor’s career: he succeeded Wilhelm Furtwängler as the chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.But not everybody forgave Karajan’s past: when he took the Berlin Philharmonic on the first tour of the US, he was met with protests, his concert in Detroit was cancelled and Eugene Ormandy, the music director of the Philadelphia Orchestra, refused to shake his hand.But somehow the rest of the world – and eventually the US as well – forgot about Karajan’s past and fell under his spell.And indeed, Karajan was making wonderful music, there is no doubt about that.His concerts and numerous recording with the Berlin Philharmonic were of the highest order.He was also conducting memorable opera performances at La Scala, Vienna and in Salzburg, where he eventually founded his own Easter Festival.His international tours were immensely popular: when he visited Moscow in 1969, mounted police had to be called to the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory to control the crowd.Karajan had the title of Berlin Philharmonic’s music director for life, and conducted the orchestra till 1989, the last year of his life.In 1984 he had a dispute with the orchestra, when he decided to make Sabine Meyer the principal clarinet.The orchestra refused to accept her, Meyer eventually withdrew her candidacy, but the relationship between Karajan and the orchestra was permanently damaged.It is not at all clear who was right in this dispute, the despotic Karajan or the misogynistic orchestra members: after leaving the orchestra, Meyer embarked on a very successful solo career.After that episode, Karajan worked more often with another great orchestra, the Vienna Philharmonic.
In the last years of his life Karajan had many health issues but was stoic about them.He resigned his post in Berlin in August of 1989 and died two months later, on June 16th of 1989.Karajan made hundreds of recordings; it’s impossible to pick one to demonstrate the quality of his musicianship.His Bruckner was highly regarded; here is the first movement of Bruckner’s Symphony no. 5.It was recorded by Herbert von Karajan and his Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in 1975.
Karajan Part II, 2021
This Week in Classical Music: April 12, 2021. Karajan, Part II. Last week we paused our Karajan story somewhere around 1946. At the end of the war Herbert von Karajan, a member of
the Nazi party from 1933 and Goering’s favorite, fled to Italy – with the help of the wonderful Italian conductor Victor de Sabata; he then returned to Austria to face the denazification commission and was cleared of any Nazi-related wrongdoings – this time with the help of his father-in law, whose daughter he would divorce soon after. In 1946 he met Walter Legge, the famous record producer and the founder of London’s Philharmonia Orchestra, with which Karajan started a very fruitful relationship. During that time, he also worked with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra (and sometimes with the Vienna Philharmonic), conducted at La Scala and made conducting appearances at the Bayreuth festivals. In 1955 he achieved a pinnacle (if not the pinnacle) of any conductor’s career: he succeeded Wilhelm Furtwängler as the chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. But not everybody forgave Karajan’s past: when he took the Berlin Philharmonic on the first tour of the US, he was met with protests, his concert in Detroit was cancelled and Eugene Ormandy, the music director of the Philadelphia Orchestra, refused to shake his hand. But somehow the rest of the world – and eventually the US as well – forgot about Karajan’s past and fell under his spell. And indeed, Karajan was making wonderful music, there is no doubt about that. His concerts and numerous recording with the Berlin Philharmonic were of the highest order. He was also conducting memorable opera performances at La Scala, Vienna and in Salzburg, where he eventually founded his own Easter Festival. His international tours were immensely popular: when he visited Moscow in 1969, mounted police had to be called to the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory to control the crowd. Karajan had the title of Berlin Philharmonic’s music director for life, and conducted the orchestra till 1989, the last year of his life. In 1984 he had a dispute with the orchestra, when he decided to make Sabine Meyer the principal clarinet. The orchestra refused to accept her, Meyer eventually withdrew her candidacy, but the relationship between Karajan and the orchestra was permanently damaged. It is not at all clear who was right in this dispute, the despotic Karajan or the misogynistic orchestra members: after leaving the orchestra, Meyer embarked on a very successful solo career. After that episode, Karajan worked more often with another great orchestra, the Vienna Philharmonic.
In the last years of his life Karajan had many health issues but was stoic about them. He resigned his post in Berlin in August of 1989 and died two months later, on June 16th of 1989. Karajan made hundreds of recordings; it’s impossible to pick one to demonstrate the quality of his musicianship. His Bruckner was highly regarded; here is the first movement of Bruckner’s Symphony no. 5. It was recorded by Herbert von Karajan and his Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in 1975.