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Herbert von Karajan

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian conductor, born Heribert Adolf Ernst Karajan on 5 April 1908 and died on 16 July 1989. His ancestors were of Greek descent. His great-great-grandfather Georg Karajan came from Kozani and moved to Vienna in 1767, and the addition von came from a title of nobility granted in 1792. Karajan made his debut at the Salzburg Festival, with the Wiener Philharmoniker and the Berliner Philharmoniker, and during the war conducted at the Staatsoper in Berlin. He was then a member of the Nazi Party, which made him controversial.

Music and breakthrough

From the mid-1950s until his death he was a dominant figure in European classical music. He was principal conductor of the Berliner Philharmoniker for thirty-four years. His recordings from the 1950s include operas by Mozart and Wagner, the symphonies of Beethoven and Tchaikovsky, and works by Richard Strauss, such as Don Juan and Till Eulenspiegel. He made so many records that, by one estimate, he sold two hundred million copies.

Influence

Karajan is regarded as one of the greatest conductors of the twentieth century. Part of his influence came from the scale and visibility of his recordings. He made classical music into a product that lay next to pop music on the record shelves in the shop, and that makes him a figure who also fits into a history of pop.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to Don Juan by Richard Strauss in a recording by Karajan. Notice the sheen of the orchestra and how the conductor makes the piece sound like one long, driving line.

Discography

Studio albums

Categories: Artists