Herbert von Karajan (Salzburg April 5, 1908 Anif near
Salzburg July 16, 1989) was a Greek-Austrian conductor. He was
one of the most prominent conductors of the postwar period and is
widely regarded as the world's most recorded conductor. Karajan
conducted the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra for thirty-five
years.
Contents [hide]
1 Genealogy
2 Early years
3 Postwar years
4 Karajan and the compact disc
5 Politics
6 Musicianship
7 Professional behavior
8 In popular culture
9 Media
10 References
11 External links
[edit]
Genealogy
Herbert von Karajan was the son of an upper-bourgeois Salzburg
family of Greek ancestry. His great-great-grandfather, Georg
Johannes Karajanis, was born in Kozani, at that time a town in the
Ottoman Empire (now in Greek Macedonia) [1], [2] and left for
Vienna in 1767, eventually moving to Chemnitz in Saxony. He and his
brother participated in the establishment of Saxony's cloth
industry, and both were ennobled for their services by Frederick
Augustus III on June 1, 1792 (thus adding the "von" to the family
name). The Karajanis name became Karajan. [3]
[edit]
Early years
Herbert von Karajan was born in Salzburg as 'Heribert Ritter von
Karajan (ref R Osborne's biography mentioned below). From 1916 to
1926, he studied at the Mozarteum Conservatory in Salzburg, where
he was encouraged to study conducting.
In 1929, he conducted Salome at the Festspielhaus in Salzburg, and
from 1929 to 1934, Karajan served as first Kapellmeister at the
Stadttheater in Ulm, Germany. In 1933, Karajan made his conducting
debut at the Salzburg Festival with the "Walpurgisnacht Scene" in
Max Reinhardt's production of Faust. The following year, and again
in Salzburg, Karajan led the Vienna Philharmonic for the first
time, and from 1934 to 1941, Karajan conducted opera and symphony
concerts at the Aachen opera house.
In March of 1935, Karajan's career was given a significant boost
when he applied for membership in the Nazi Party. ('Aufnahmegruppe
der 1933er, nachgereichte') That same year, Karajan was appointed
Germany's youngest "Generalmusikdirektor" and was a guest conductor
in Brussels, Stockholm, Amsterdam, and other European cities.
Moreover, in 1937, Karajan made his debut with the Berlin
Philharmonic and the Berlin State Opera with Fidelio. He enjoyed a
major success with Tristan und Isolde and in 1938, was hailed by a
Berlin critic as "Das Wunder Karajan." Receiving a contract with
Deutsche Grammophon that same year, Karajan made the first of
numerous recordings by conducting the Staatskapelle Berlin in the
overture to Die Zauberflöte.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Von_Karajan