Karajan's La Boheme

[Mr Pee]

How lovely to hear that excerpt from Karajan's La Boheme, with Pavarotti and Freni at their absolute peak, on Classical Collection this morning. I've loved this recording for most of my life and it would certainly go to a desert island with me. It's not just the quality of the singing- the BPO sound competely glorious as well.

[remdataram]

I concur Mr Pee.

I remember my Mother telling me that this was her all time favourite piece - she always listened to it when she felt 'down', so exhilarating is the performance.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I can't think of a finer Mimi than Freni. There's an earlier (DVD) Unitel version with Raimondi which is rather good too. Sadly by the time a filmed version with Pavarotti was made, Freni was past her best.

[amateur51]

I concur Mr Pee.

I remember my Mother telling me that this was her all time favourite piece - she always listened to it when she felt 'down', so exhilarating is the performance.

A friend who is nursing an ex- who has cancer told me this morning that she heard this clip on Radio 3 this morning and she burst into tears, so moving was the performance.

She felt much better as a result

[remdataram]

A friend who is nursing an ex- who has cancer told me this morning that she heard this clip on Radio 3 this morning and she burst into tears, so moving was the performance.

She felt much better as a result

There are so many pieces of music that move us, but this piece probably moves more people than any other.

[StephenO]

Even taken out of context it's a beautiful piece and Freni was at her very finest. It's one of those recordings where everything seems to be absolutely right - soloists, orchestra, conductor, the lot. I think it'd find its way onto a lot of people's desert islands, Mr Pee.

[Mandryka]

Another thumbs-up from me.

I read somewhere that the Decca recording team kept Karajan in his place, which is probably why it sounds so glorious.

[Barbirollians]

I have owned the highlights for a long time but only recently bought a second hand copy of the whole set . It really is a gloriously indulgent performance - wonderfully played and sung . I am far from sure that I should like of you be the only version that I owned though - sometimes it is too much . I am glad to have the Beecham and Schippers recordings too. And the Callas and Tebaldi records.

[gradus]

The BPO play as perhaps only they could. Karajan paces things very well for his singers never drowning them despite a dynamic range that is quite extraordinary, witness the end of Musetta's waltz.
Karajan's Tosca for Decca also has the most wonderful recorded sound.

[pastoralguy]

Another thumbs-up from me.

I read somewhere that the Decca recording team kept Karajan in his place, which is probably why it sounds so glorious.

I'm sure there's a story that Karajan recorded Tchaikovsky 4 with the Berliner Philharmoniker for EMI. He was impatient to start and wouldn't allow the engineers the time to place their microphones properly resulting in the fiddles being almost inaudible. Good to know the DECCA people had the nerve to stand up to him!

[LHC]

I'm sure there's a story that Karajan recorded Tchaikovsky 4 with the Berliner Philharmoniker for EMI. He was impatient to start and wouldn't allow the engineers the time to place their microphones properly resulting in the fiddles being almost inaudible. Good to know the DECCA people had the nerve to stand up to him!

Given Karajan’s abiding interest in recording technology, I find this hard to believe. Some of his later EMI recordings were afflicted by his inveterate knob twiddling, and I think it more likely that the DECCA engineers didn’t allow him to dictate the final sound balance to them, rather than him not allowing the mics to be set up correctly for EMI.