Review: Karajan's Complete DG Recordings--The 70s Box

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The Ultimate Classical Music Guide by Dave Hurwitz

Күн бұрын

Nearly 90 CDs of gorgeous playing, but also some really bad choral music performances and lots of repetition from the 60s (Beethoven, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, and more)--that was Karajan in the 70s. Have a look and listen for details.

Пікірлер: 59

@EvanJHagen Жыл бұрын

Growing up I high school (I’m 25 now) I became a Karajan nut, thinking everything he did was beautiful, and hearing any criticism infuriated me. Now, after college, I’m so glad my taste has been expanded. Even then, when I heard his Mozart, I thought it was beautiful, but somehow knew it had little of interest for me beyond that. Then I realized that while I was a huge Karajan fan, what I wanted to hear was the musicians of the Berlin Philharmonic. Now I agree with most of what you have to say about the matter. Thanks from Alaska Dave!

@alberteinstein3148 Жыл бұрын

Hi from France, Dave ! Note on the real face of the European Hymns disk : Karajan has composed his own orchestration of the Beethoven's Ode to Joy, which is the official hymn of Europe. So, at each play of this hymn in offical ceremonies, his heritiers receive money...

@DavesClassicalGuide Жыл бұрын

It figures.

@ljiljanastanic9076 Жыл бұрын

Hello,Mr.Hurwitz!Karajan is the conductor I love the most and your interpretations of his performances are something special for me,a real joy!I'm delighted when your taste and mine match,for exampleKarajan's performances of Tchaikovsky 5,6,4,1...Bruckner 8,9,7,1,I also like 5 which on your opinion is unsuccessful..Straus..I'm glad that you also rate Karajan's Respighi highly.The Pinnes of the via Appia is phenomenal!!I want to say that every time when I listen to you I learn something new ,and many times you surprise me with same bad grades,specifically about Schumann,even Beethoven,Mozart?!It's certainly extremly interesting for me to follow you!

@flowsouth8496 Жыл бұрын

Given what you said about woodwinds elsewhere, I'm a little surprised about the praise bestowed on Karajan's Peer Gynt suites. I completely agree with the assessment of the first three Tchaikovsky symphonies. As one of the people who love Karajan's Mahler 6, I wasn't aware that he fiddled with the orchestration, and wouldn't mind an in-depth review which I think would be instructive.

@tonysanderson4031 Жыл бұрын

A surprisinly positive review overall. It was wonderful to hear about him paying for the second Viennese School recordings.

@daniellibin5254 Жыл бұрын

I’d like to voice my enthusiasm for Karajan/Berlin playing Vivaldi, especially the E major concerto RV 271. Thank you.

@OuterGalaxyLounge Жыл бұрын

You're trimming up nicely doing these exercises. I wonder how many copies of these recordings you have, as you seem to have all of them individually, in multiple reissues, as well as in multiple box sets that do or do not wholly overlap. I tend to like to get single discs mainly because I like to arrange by composer (A-Z) rather than by artist/conductor. As you have often said, the artists mean nothing (yes, this is an oversimplified reading of your point, but anyway...), it's the music that matters.

@ud- Жыл бұрын

My heart breaks when i see someone who have one of Karajan box sets I just want a one so bad but i live in Syria and i can't get any not even a single CD Sometime I try to download FLAC audio files from torrent websites but a lot of these are not there Don't get me wrong I really like your channel but i disagree with your opinion on Karajan because i love every minute of music he conducts

@antec61 Жыл бұрын

Try Soulseek

@philscott6085 Жыл бұрын

These Karajan reviews are among your very best. I find it hard to believe anyone interested in one big Karajan DG box would not have acquired at least some of the four separate boxes! I revisited mine, and listened to (among others) the second Symphonie Fantastique, and the Beethoven Triple Concerto. The Fantastique lives up to its name, you are dead right. The opening of the Beethoven, looming out of the foggy depths, sounds like the prelude to a Wagner opera! K's predilection for youthful soloists - good though they are - confirms his image as 'the boss'. I can't wait for your thoughts on the 80s box and, most Karajanian of all, the operas. In my view, his best opera recordings came from EMI (Falstaff, Rosenkavalier, Meistersinger, Pelleas et Melisande) and Decca (Otello, Boheme).

@albertbauli Жыл бұрын

I agree with you on the triple concerto, I never got into it, even in reslly good live performances I’ve attended to.

@CortJohnson Жыл бұрын

These are so much fun! Such an interesting conductor- so many dramatic highs and equally dramatic lows…Too bad none of these sets are available.

@GalvarAntropes Жыл бұрын

Hello, actually the writings at the back of the box are written in korean. Best regards from France, Etienne

@DavesClassicalGuide Жыл бұрын

Of course! Thank you!

@charlescoleman5509 Жыл бұрын

I think one example of what you're talking about, with regard to Karajan's Mozart, is in listening to the Requiem. The opening of the Tuba Mirum has two trombones in unison! Not one solo trombone as is was written. there's a a lot of piling on throughout.

@MorganHayes_Composer.Pianist Жыл бұрын

I wonder if any other recordings do that? - Smoothing out of rough edges at all costs. I don't like the effect.

@dmntuba Жыл бұрын

I remember years ago someone (who really could have been in the know, but could never tell if they were serious) that HVK was serious considered for Cleveland after Szell died and also NYPhil. Does anybody know the skinny?

@ronaldswedlund4683 Жыл бұрын

Karajan as Cleveland's music director is a tantalizing thought: that would have been more appropriate for him than the Orchestre de Paris.

@thiinkerca Жыл бұрын

Most of my recordings that i own are late 60s and 70s recordings. The special album sized strauss set of cds is gorgeous, the karajan symphonies of all the major symphomies is magnificent to have , and the beetboven symphony cycle of the 1970s which again i 3njoy very much. There was the schonberg, berg, webern set which has strangely been pleasurable to listen to. The karajan gold set of all the mix of none symphonic orchestral pices which are fantastic. It is always for me either toscanin or karajan who as time emerged were distinctively different as karajan evolved from his influence from toscanini's phenomenal influence and musicianship.

@dmntuba Жыл бұрын

The best video on HVK would be the box that YOU put together. 30 cd's based on all his recordings 👍

@ervinvice1521 8 ай бұрын

Late to the party, but I actually like Karajan’s baroque recordings. I have tried to hate them, but can’t.

@jdistler2 Жыл бұрын

Actually, the missing repeat in the Tchaikovsky Fourth first movement concerned his 1966 recording, not the 70s DG remake. It went missing in the big complete DG Karajan box, as well as the Karajan 1960s box you covered and the 2001 8-CD Karajan Tchaikovsky DG box. However, the repeat was intact in the 2003 two-CD release of the sixties Tchaik 4/5/6 with the catalog number 4742842.

@DavesClassicalGuide Жыл бұрын

Well there we have it! Thanks.

@justindeming Жыл бұрын

Please hold up the album covers so I can more easily find the individual recordings I’m interested in. Thank you.

@DavesClassicalGuide Жыл бұрын

Sorry, but I don't think so. Not 80+ of them. You'll just have to take notes!

@justindeming Жыл бұрын

@@DavesClassicalGuide fair enough.

@jlaurson Жыл бұрын

I have from a trustworthy source the following about HvK's Mendelssohn: "I went back and listened to Karajan set and (with the possible exception of the Italian Symphony) I agree with you--pretty terrific." :-)

@DavesClassicalGuide Жыл бұрын

Yep, but that Italian--yuck.

@goonbelly5841 Жыл бұрын

That Vivaldi concertos CD which has been re-issued several times (some of them have a still from the film "Elvira Madigan" on the cover) is actually quite good.

@weewee2169 Жыл бұрын

the swastika thing put me on the floor with laughter, did it really occur to nobody in the manufacturing process

@EddieJazzFan Жыл бұрын

The 70s Karajan era is my favorite (minus the Baroque stuff and the muddy Mendelssohn). Incidentally, the forthcoming Ansermet stereo Box is also 88 discs.

@matthewweflen Жыл бұрын

I think these late Mozart symphonies are quite a bit better than HVK/BPO's 60s Mozart symphony/divertimenti recordings. Those were done at the St. Moritz Victoria-Konzertsaal (as were the wretched 60s Brandenbergs), and the recorded sound is just not good, just as flabby and lacking in detail as you say in your review. But these late 70s Mozarts recorded at the Berlin Philharmonie, with its drier acoustic, really are pretty decent, as long as you're into "big band" Mozart. They share a lot of characteristics with the digital Haydn recordings from the early 80s.

@flowsouth8496 Жыл бұрын

I think the Mozart 38 in this set is a really exciting performance. If only the woodwinds were a little bit more forward in the last movement.

@matthewweflen Жыл бұрын

@@flowsouth8496 I've always got my Adam Fischer set if I need a thinner sound. I think HVK/BPO's 38 through 41 are all really fun to listen to.

@JackBurttrumpetstuff Жыл бұрын

My 70s and 60s box are identical in shape, one black, the other blue… both are 82 disc sets…

@JackBurttrumpetstuff Жыл бұрын

I’m surprised you didn’t mention the Tam/tam solo in the finale of the Tchaikovsky second, a little Russian!😂

@kaswit007 Жыл бұрын

I think Karajan Japanese issue only dg complete edition without original jackets.

@samuelstephens6163 2 ай бұрын

Karajan's Brandenburgs are cinderblocks. Brutalist and lethal.

@chadweirick67 Жыл бұрын

And today's SAT word is.. Oleaginous :)

@f.e.urquhart16 Жыл бұрын

I choked on coffee at "Nazis on Parade".

@eugenebraig413 Жыл бұрын

The triple concert: yeah, it's ok.

@daiwai1 Жыл бұрын

Not sure if someone had mentioned but the wording is actually Korean 🙂

@DavesClassicalGuide Жыл бұрын

Everyone in Korea mentioned it already, believe me.

@ftumschk Жыл бұрын

... Seoul music?

@spellerine5011 Жыл бұрын

I've been thrifting Deutche Grammophon CDs and LPs as a new classical listener and was wondering why I wasn't able to engage with the material....bland, almost non musical. Then I realized they were almost all exclusively KARAJAN recordings. So I started laving them on the shelf and going for other conductors with better listening results. Then I accidentally picked up another, but this one was actually GOOD...his recording of Albinoni Adagio and Pachelbel's Canon. There was musicality, there was excitement...this was the same Karajan?! So I've now learned never to completely write off any conductor.

@DavesClassicalGuide Жыл бұрын

A very good point. There is no substitute for listening, and taking each performance as it comes.

@stevemcclue5759 Жыл бұрын

Great review, Dave. Going through these boxes is great fun for us - it may at times be agonising for you, tho. Personally I always hated von K's Mahler - with the exception of the 9th. When I heard the recording of the 5th I thought they had released some kind of rehearsal - it sounded as if the Berlin Phil had no clue about this music: just awful. Keep up the good work - somebody has to listen to Karajan's Bach, and I'm glad it's you and not me!

@albertbauli Жыл бұрын

I agree with all except the Borodin and miniatures disc which I find really amusing, and his Brahms which I tried to like but never did; it’s just messy in my ears. His 60’s brahms is much better but still doesn’t really do it for me.

@robertdandre94101 Жыл бұрын

for the karajan recordings of the 70s.....the one I prefer the most is the overture of guillaume tell by rossini with its finale where the playing of the strings is breathtaking....speaking of these recordings, and you don't , talk little about it, I wonder if the acoustics of the jesus christus kirche church located in west berlin (where conductors like jochum, fricsay, kubelik, etc., have recorded for dgg), with its large colored stained glass window, had an impact on the sound recording done most of the time by gunter hermanns who often left something to be desired especially at the end of the 70s ..... the situation is, when for me to improve a little when the philharmonic orchestra of berlin moved its instruments to the berlin philharmonic hall which seemed to have better acoustics

@DavesClassicalGuide Жыл бұрын

Most seem to prefer the church acoustic to the philharmonic hall.

@igorgregoryvedeltomaszewsk1148 Жыл бұрын

The acoustics of the Jesus Christus are definitely more atmospheric and warm than the Berlin Philharmonic Hall - period!

@vilebrequin6923 5 ай бұрын

I agree thoroughly, the bloom the church acoustic bestows is infinitely preferable 😊. @igorgregoryvedeltomaszewsk1148

@eddihaskell Жыл бұрын

Make sure to fry up a whole bunch of schmaltz (chicken fat) and eat is spread on some good German rye bread before you listen to three or more of these discs. You will need it after listening to how vK manages to make every single recording sound like it clogs your arteries.

@DavesClassicalGuide Жыл бұрын

Not all of them, but some Schumann, Mendelssohn and gobs of choral music for sure.

@robertcurry7664 Жыл бұрын

I couldn’t agree with you more about how awful his Bach Mass and St Mathew Passion are…which is so frustrating, as the soloists are are dream team in both…but he was so completely devoid of humility, so couldn’t ever serve Bach’s music.

@ronaldswedlund4683 Жыл бұрын

I've always loved Karajan's DG St. Matthew Passion recording, and find it endlessly fascinating; my favorite recording of that work, however, is Klemperer's followed by Furtwaengler's (in spite of its cuts) and Mengelberg's (in spite of its cuts). Of these four recordings, Karajan's is the most historically informed and authentic, if one cares about such things. I've never particularly liked Karajan's DG B Minor Mass: I once read that Karajan himself was dissatisfied with it, and wanted to rerecord it with smaller forces, somewhat in the manner of Klemperer's fine recording, which is my favorite. I also once read that early in his career Karajan wanted to be a baroque specialist, and that interest's thread runs throughout his career, with him sometimes conducting from the harpsichord and striving to recreate baroque performance practice. Unfortunately, a frequent feature of Karajan's Bach conducting is an off-putting metronomic stiffness and rigidity: he seems to feel little emotional connection with the music, in contrast to the music of Albinoni (the twentieth-century adagio based upon an Albinoni bass line), Pachelbel (the cannon, possibly written to be played in time of war or, when played at weddings, anticipating future war between bride and groom), Vivaldi, Handel, and--moving forward to the classical period--Haydn.