Karajan's gold sound lives on

Herbert von Karajan is better known than any other 20th century conductor beyond the ivory
tower world of classical music. The first "media conductor" in music history is a role model
for musicians of all genres even today.
His aim was to find the perfect sound absolute harmony! free of secondary noise. "n Herbert
von Karajan#s view! every voice and every instrument should be clearly recogni$able. This
gold sound seems to have lost none of its impact even today. The star conductor! who would
have celebrated his %00th birthday on &aturday '( )pril 200*+! and his ,uest for the perfect
sound still inspire musicians across all genre borders.
The me$$o soprano -hrista .udwig said that Karajan set great store by beautiful phrasing!
absolute harmony and the legato. "Today we would say that Karajan had the groove." /roove
e0pert .enny Kravit$ said! "Karajan was rock#n#roll."
Karajan forever
1or 2ike 3ldfield! who has just presented his first work with a symphony orchestra! "2usic
of the &pheres"! Karajan is the conductor whose reading and interpretation of a classical piece
set the bar. He has commented that whenever he looked for a recording of a classical work! it
was usually Karajan he chose. He identified so much with his performance that the same work
no longer sounded right when conducted by someone else.
However! his feeling for what people wanted to hear led critics to accuse him of populism
during his lifetime. -olleagues like 4ikolaus Harnoncourt reproached him indirectly for
reducing classical music to light entertainment.
Technology freak and media conductor
5ut there is no ,uestion that Karajan also set new standards in terms of technology. He is
rightly regarded as the very first media conductor in the history of music! as the first
successful music manager on a grand scale. 1or Karajan was one of the pioneers in translating
music into images. )s early as the %670s Karajan was interested in the possibilities offered by
the long8playing record. The maestro was one of the pioneers of music videos.
8 2 8
9ith the same indomitable will with which he strove to e0cel in everything he did! he used
the most modern means of his time to produce his music films! filmed opera and concert
performances. 9ith the then head of &ony! )kio 2orita! the technology freak provided key
impetus for the development of the compact disc '-:+.
""#m needed everywhere"
Karajan#s ability to spot new talent was also legendary. He discovered the singers Hildegard
5ehrens and )gnes 5altsa as well as the violinist )nne8&ophie 2utter. 2oreover! he left
nothing to chance when planning his own career. 1or instance! he joined )dolf Hitler#s
4&:);! obviously with a view to furthering his career! and this brought him his first
engagement in 5erlin.
However! Herbert von Karajan#s meteoric rise did not begin until after the &econd 9orld 9ar.
1ollowing 9ilhelm 1urtw<ngler#s death in %6(( he became the principal conductor of the
5erlin ;hilharmonic and remained so until shortly before his death. He also headed the
&al$burg 1estival and the =ienna 3pera House and fre,uently conducted in 4ew >ork and
2ilan. ) joke summed up his omnipresence? Karajan arrives somewhere and takes a ta0i.
9hen asked where he wants to go! he replies! ""t doesn#t matter! "#m needed everywhere."
Herbert von Karajan had more power than any other conductor during the 20th century. "t did
not crumble away until his last years when he became ill and fell out with the 5erlin
;hilharmonic. Karajan died on %@ Auly %6*6 at the age of *% in )nif near &al$burg.
&ource? :eutsche 9elle 'www.dw8world.de+