Berlin (23 January 2025) The Berliner Philharmoniker are releasing a comprehensive edition of live concert broadcast recordings under the baton of their long-time chief conductor Herbert von Karajan. The recordings document all surviving recordings of a total of 23 concerts from 1953 to 1969, and provide a fascinating, very direct insight into the joint artistic development across a wide-ranging repertoire. The original tapes from Rundfunk im Amerikanischen Sektor (RIAS) and Sender Freies Berlin (SFB) have been digitised in high resolution for this edition in line with today’s standards. Most of them are being released for the first time. Curated in the form of interrelated concerts, this edition also offers a revealing insight into Karajan’s dramaturgical approach. |
| The hardcover edition, designed by painter and sculptor Thomas Scheibitz, contains the recordings on 24 CD/SACD (hybrid) and an accompanying book with numerous photos and in-depth essays by Karajan biographer Peter Uehling, music publicist James Jolly and others. Following the release of Wilhelm Furtwängler’s radio recordings 1939-1945, this is the second major historical edition of Berliner Philharmoniker Recordings and a further milestone in the documentation of the orchestra’s media history. It is available from 28 February 2025 at berliner-philharmoniker-recordings.com and from selected specialist retailers. “It was part of Karajan’s philosophy to rehearse so thoroughly that he could make himself superfluous during the concert — like an observing creator,” write the orchestra’s two media representatives, Philipp Bohnen (violin) and Olaf Maninger (principal cellist), in the foreword to the edition. “Performances on the platform were particularly outstanding when he not only loosened the reins with complete trust in his musicians, but virtually let go of them altogether. This willingness to take risks and the inherent danger of failure are the basis of the inimitable appeal of a live performance, which we experience in the truest sense of the word — while we sometimes merely marvel at studio recordings that have been perfected down to the smallest detail using the latest sound technology.” The live radio recordings in this edition form a fascinating paradox: they are snapshots that capture the spontaneity of the live performance, the magic of the unique musical moment. Never before has it been possible to meet the live artist Karajan and his development together with the Berliner Philharmoniker as directly as in this comprehensive edition. Herbert von Karajan conducted the Berliner Philharmoniker for the first time in April 1938 in an acclaimed debut. After the death of Wilhelm Furtwängler in 1954, Karajan successfully took over the reins of an already planned tour of America the following year. In 1956, he was appointed chief conductor for life. Until the end of his tenure and his death in 1989, Herbert von Karajan influenced the artistic and media development of the Berliner Philharmoniker more than any of his predecessors. Berliner Philharmoniker and Herbert von Karajan: 1953–1969 live in Berlin List of works contained on the 24 CD/SACD sorted by composer (a list of works sorted chronologically by concert can be found attached) Johann Sebastian Bach Magnificat in D major, BWV 243 Béla Bartók Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta, Sz 106 Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No. 3 in E flat major, Op. 55 “Eroica” Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 (Elisabeth Grümmer, Marga Höffgen, Ernst Haefliger, Gottlob Frick, Chor der St. Hedwigs-Kathedrale) Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 (Gundula Janowitz, Sieglinde Wagner, Luigi Alva, Otto Wiener, Chor der St. Hedwigs-Kathedrale, RIAS Kammerchor) Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 (Gundula Janowitz, Christa Ludwig, Jess Thomas, Walter Berry, Chor der Deutschen Oper Berlin) Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37 (Glenn Gould) Richard Rodney Bennett Aubade for Orchestra Johannes Brahms Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 73 Symphony No. 3 in F major, Op. 90 Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98 Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2 in B flat major, Op. 83 (Géza Anda) Anton Bruckner Symphony No. 4 in E flat major “Romantic” (2nd version) Symphony No. 8 in C minor (2nd version) Claude Debussy Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune Antonín Dvořák Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95 “From the New World” George Frideric Handel Concerto grosso in D major, Op. 6 No. 5, HWV 323 Concerto grosso in C minor, Op. 6 No. 8 HWV 326 Rolf Liebermann Capriccio for Soprano, Violin and Orchestra (Irmgard Seefried, Wolfgang Schneiderhan) György Ligeti Atmosphères Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Symphony No. 41 in C major, K. 551 “Jupiter” Divertimento in B flat major, K. 287 “Lodron Serenade No. 2” Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in D minor, K. 466 (Wilhelm Kempff) Concerto for 3 Pianos and Orchestra in F major, K. 242 (Jörg Demus, Christoph Eschenbach, Herbert von Karajan) Sergei Prokofiev Symphony No. 5 in B flat major, Op. 100 Maurice Ravel Daphnis et Chloé, Orchestral Suite No. 2 Arnold Schoenberg Variations for Orchestra, Op. 31 Franz Schubert Symphony No. 8 in C major, D 944 “The Great” Robert Schumann Symphony No. 4 in D minor, Op. 120 Jean Sibelius Symphony No. 5 in E flat major, Op. 82 Richard Strauss Ariadne auf Naxos: »Es gibt ein Reich, wo alles rein ist« (Elisabeth Schwarzkopf) Concerto for Oboe and Small Orchestra in D major (Lothar Koch) Four Last Songs (Elisabeth Schwarzkopf) A Hero’s Life, Op. 40 Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Op. 30 Don Quixote, Op. 35 (Pierre Fournier, Giusto Cappone) Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64 Ralph Vaughan Williams Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis Richard Wagner Tristan und Isolde: Prelude and Liebestod |
https://www.berliner-philharmoniker-recordings.com/karajan-edition.html
I cannot find an attached list as described with the chronological listing of concerts. I previously attempted to contact the Berliner Philharmoniker through my account to get this exact info, but they did not respond. I am interested, but at around $300, to me that is a lot to spend, period! But if I cannot even know what I am getting for that money, I just cannot justify the expense. Thanks!
The contents’ list is above only, from Bach’s Magnificat to the Tristan bookends and including three Beethoven Nines, pieces by Ligeti, Ravel and Schoenberg, as well as VW’s Tallis Fantasia.