Karajan: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Requiem

Karajan: New Year's Eve Concert

Karajan had been appointed music director for life of the Berlin Philharmonic in 1955, and soon the orchestra mastered the entire palette of Karajan's subtly defined phrasings, moods and orchestral colors. At home in the majesty of Bruckner or the raw power of Beethoven, the orchestra was also able to "let go" with Suppé or a Lisztian Hungarian Rhapsody, as the recording illustrates. For the 1978 New Year's Eve concert with the Berlin Philharmonic, Karajan put together a program of exclusively popular classical works, pieces that would guara...

Karajan: Beethoven - Symphonies 1, 2 & 3

This set was recorded in the late 1960s to early 1970s. Herbert von Karajan is widely acknowledged to be one of the finest conductors of the 20th century, and around 1970 he was at his peak.

Otello

Herbert von Karajan directed this film of Verdi’s Shakespearan masterpiece as well as conducting the Berlin Philharmonic. As the tragic Moor of Venice, arguably his greatest role, John Vickers (in the words of critic David Cairns) "commands both the notes and the moral grandeur of the part. … And he has the aura of greatness – greatness of heart, of bearing, of musical and dramatic conception". Mirella Freni is a heartbreakingly lovely and fragile Desdemona, while the fine English baritone Peter Glossop plays the villainous Jago.

The Art of Conducting: Great Conductors of the Past

Documentary about sixteen great conductors of the 20th century.

Karajan in Rehearsal

Karajan conducts rehearsal and performance of Schubert's Symphony No. 4 with the Vienna Symphony in Vienna, Nov. 1965, and Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 with the Berlin Philharmonic, January 1966. Henri-Georges Clouzot directs.

Karajan - Bruckner - Symphonies Nos. 8 & 9

Karajan - Bruckner - Symphonies No. 8 & 9

Brahms: The Symphonies

Karajan conducts these symphonies with eyes closed, often intently enraptured by the music, smiling occasionally when a passage or solo sounds just right to his ear. He conducts Brahms with a greater sense of urgency than does Bernstein: the First symphony is 11 minutes shorter as conducted by Karajan! Nothing is rushed but there is what can only be described as emotional compression, an intensity of expression that sounds quicker than Bernstein's performances.

Verdi – Messa da Requiem

Herbert von Karajan conducts La Scala Orchestra and Chorus with soloists Leontyne Price, Fiorenza Cossotto, Luciano Pavarotti, and Nicolai Ghiaurov.

Rostropovich Life & Art

Released as a memorial for the great Russian cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, who passed away on 27 April 2007, this DVD contains one bonafide cello concerto, the Schumann Cello Concerto in A minor, and two tone poems with prominent cello parts, Ernest Bloch's Schelomo and Richard Strauss' Don Quixote. Rostropovich mastered the Schumann in several famous recordings. Here, conducted by Leonard Bernstein, he provides a splendid performance. Featuring his trademark powerful technique, smooth legato and crisp vibrato, the Romantic roots of the con...

Eroica - Director's Cut

Herbert von Karajan: Maestro for the Screen

Documentary on conductor Herbert van Karajan, focusing on his early adoption of audio and video recording technology and his impetus to make use of it to preserve his musical legacy for future generations.

Il Trovatore - Verdi

The gypsy Azucena (Fiorenza Cossotto) takes revenge for her mother who was accused of putting a curse on one of the old Count di Luna's two sons: she decides to abduct the younger child and throw it in the flames. But when she is about to carry out this fatal act, the gypsy sacrifices her own child and keeps the old Count’s son, whom she names Manrico (IL TROVATORE, Plácido Domingo). Later, as adults, the troubadour Manrico and the Count di Luna’s elder son (Piero Cappucilli) do not know each other, but become rivals for the beautiful Leonor...

Eroica

A concert-film using innovative cinematic techniques to set music to images. As conductor Herbert von Karajan didn't like the experimental style, he had the film re-edited severely before release.

Pastorale

Don Giovanni

Live performance from Salzburger Festspiele in 1987. Herbert von Karajan conducting the Wiener Philharmoniker and Wiener Staatsopernchor. Stage director Michael Hampe. Starring Samuel Ramey and Anna Tomowa-Sintow.

Der Rosenkavalier

A production of Strauss' opera 'Der Rosenkavalier' performed at the Saltzburg Festival in 1984. Includes the Vienna State Opera Choir, the Philharmonic Orchestra with singers Wilma Lipp, Anna Tomowa-Sintow and Agnes Baltsa. Conducted by Herbert Von Karaja

Herbert von Karajan conducts Beethoven's Symphony No. 9

Beethoven · Missa Solemnis - Herbert von Karajan

Don Carlo

A live performance of Giuseppe Verdi's opera.