HvK best at ... ?

[pastoralguy]

...and where is his Elgar - the BPO would have sounded marvellous in the symphonies, but then Rattle did not go there either - maybe with the LSO he will!

I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to ask Sir Simon about that very topic. He told me that the Berliner Philharmoniker were reluctant to play the Symphonies since there was little enthusiasm amongst the Berlin audiences. The attitude was 'why bother when there's Brahms?!'

[Petrushka]

As with so many conductors, Karajan included, recordings only tell half the story. Re the Strauss operas; I think it likely that DG saw the less 'sellable' ones as the preserve of Karl Böhm. Elektra, though, is a surprising omission. Karajan performed it as early as 1938 at the Berlin State Opera and often thereafter but the only recording we have is a 1964 Vienna broadcast.

Those interested in Karajan's performance history should investigate this fascinating resource which should keep anyone occupied for hours: http://www.karajan.org/jart/prj3/kar...ve-mode=active

[Bryn]

I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to ask Sir Simon about that very topic. He told me that the Berliner Philharmoniker were reluctant to play the Symphonies since there was little enthusiasm amongst the Berlin audiences. The attitude was 'why bother when there's Brahms?!'

Why bother with Brahms when there is Schoenberg?

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

He didn't find anything in Elgar (not even the familiar stuff): at around the time he was recording the Nielsen #4 and the Saint-Saens Organ Symphony, he ordered scores of Elgar's orchestral works to study with a view to performing/recording them. He sent most of them back fairly quickly, but kept the Second Symphony for some months before deciding it wasn't for him.

The Strauss Domestic and Alpine weren't exactly "well canonised" before he recorded them - only the excellent Kempe Stereo recordings from any of the "big" names.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

As with so many conductors, Karajan included, recordings only tell half the story. Re the Strauss operas; I think it likely that DG saw the less 'sellable' ones as the preserve of Karl Böhm. Elektra, though, is a surprising omission. Karajan performed it as early as 1938 at the Berlin State Opera and often thereafter but the only recording we have is a 1964 Vienna broadcast.

There's a Live Frau ohne Schatten, too, which he never took into the studio (and which, unlike the Elektra hasn't been "officially" released AFAIK).

[pastoralguy]

Why bother with Brahms when there is Schoenberg?

There's a story that Sir Simon insisted on doing the Schoenberg/Brahms Quartet with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Everyone in management was against it since anything with Schoenberg was box office poison. After the performance, word came back that many people didn't realise that 'Schoenberg' could be so tuneful!

[Conchis]

There's a Live Frau ohne Schatten, too, which he never took into the studio (and which, unlike the Elektra hasn't been "officially" released AFAIK).

DG released it, and I own it:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Strauss-Die-Frau-ohne-Schatten/dp/B000007N5B/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=Die+Frau+ohne+schatten%2C+karajan&qid=1560202896&s=gateway&sr=8-2

[Bryn]

DG released it, and I own it:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Strauss-Die...gateway&sr=8-2

Rather cheaper from:

https://www.amazon.de/Strauss-Die-Frau-ohne-Schatten/dp/B000007N5B/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=Die+Frau+ohne+schatten%2C+karajan&qid=1560202896&s=gateway&sr=8-2

though the p&p is both excessive and delivery may not be available to the UK.

It is not, however, in the supposedly complete DG and Decca recordings box. I have just ordered a "Used: Good" condition set from amazon.fr for £22.55 including p&p.

[Conchis]

Rather cheaper from:

https://www.amazon.de/Strauss-Die-Frau-ohne-Schatten/dp/B000007N5B/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=Die+Frau+ohne+schatten%2C+karajan&qid=1560202896&s=gateway&sr=8-2

though the p&p is both excessive and delivery may not be available to the UK.

It is not, however, in the supposedly complete DG and Decca recordings box. I have just ordered a "Used: Good" condition set from amazon.fr for £22.55 including p&p.

I think I got mine for about eight quid in one of the early 00s HMV sales.

Karajan decides that he knows better than Strauss/von Hofmannstahl and re-orders the sequence of the scenes. Still marvellous, though.

[pastoralguy]

Karajan's Beethoven 8 is pretty outstanding...

[Bryn]

Karajan's Beethoven 8 is pretty outstanding...

Which one?

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Which one?

I don't think Wolfgang recorded it?

[Conchis]

Which one?

His Philharmonia account from the late forties is usually considered to be his best; needless to add, it doesn’t convince me.

[pastoralguy]

Which one?

All of them!

[verismissimo]

I love the description of Karajan’s Sibelius as ‘the freezing wildness of the icy fjords as viewed from the interior of a centrally heated limousine.’ :)

Who said this, Conchis?