Tony L
Administrator
A new 90 minute documentary, Karajan's Magic and Myth, just starting now on BBC4. Apologies for short notice!
Karajan BBC4
- Thread starter Tony L
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Stunsworth
pfm Member
Set to record.
I noticed it the other day, but forgot to mention it.
I noticed it the other day, but forgot to mention it.
jackbarron
Chelsea, London
Nice line in cars.
Jack
Jack
Space is the Place
pfm Member
Very enjoyable documentary. You can hear how much more frenetic and dynamic much of the music is with him as a conductor compared to symphonies when others conduct, which sound softer, less vital, now i know where the difference comes from! Almost like a classical Spinal Tap!
The story about him criticising a horn player when rehearsing for Strauss, the comeback from the musician made me laugh.
The story about him criticising a horn player when rehearsing for Strauss, the comeback from the musician made me laugh.
TheDecameron
Unicorns fart glitter.
The Berliner Philharmoniker platform has a fascinating 3 part history of the orchestra. You ‘meet’ musicians who could remember joining as a youngster and sat next to some old boy in their section who had accompanied Brahms playing his own first piano concerto. Zoom forward in part 3 to the Karajan years where many well known facts were aired as well as a few new ones including the origin of his divorce with the orchestra- a missing first clarinet at the Lucerne Fesitival.
What confused me though were the events preceding his death which I understood to be from a heart attack at his home in Austria. Before that I knew he had a debilitating spinal problem which badly affected his movement and no doubt his quality of life. One of his last performances with the BPO was the Verdi Requiem at his Salzburg Easter Festival and he very unusually asked the audience to abstain from applause at the end. One of the musicians interviewed said Karajan knew ‘the end was near’ which I took to mean his life and not his career with the orchestra. This chimed with something Karajan said to his wife, coming off stage in Salzburg with the VPO and Jessie Norman, captured in the documentary of the time. So, a bit of a mystery.
What confused me though were the events preceding his death which I understood to be from a heart attack at his home in Austria. Before that I knew he had a debilitating spinal problem which badly affected his movement and no doubt his quality of life. One of his last performances with the BPO was the Verdi Requiem at his Salzburg Easter Festival and he very unusually asked the audience to abstain from applause at the end. One of the musicians interviewed said Karajan knew ‘the end was near’ which I took to mean his life and not his career with the orchestra. This chimed with something Karajan said to his wife, coming off stage in Salzburg with the VPO and Jessie Norman, captured in the documentary of the time. So, a bit of a mystery.
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