Herbert Callen

The Karajan Official Remastered Edition comprises 101 CDs across 13 box sets containing official remasterings of the finest recordings the Austrian conductor made for EMI between 1946 and 1984, and which are now a jewel of the Warner Classics catalogue.
For many, Herbert von Karajan (1908-1989) – hailed early in his career as ‘Das Wunder Karajan’ (The Karajan Miracle) and known in the early 1960s as ‘the music director of Europe’ – remains the ultimate embodiment of the maestro.

Victor Herbert, Irish by birth, moved to Germany when he was eight and came to America when both he and his wife landed gigs with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in New York. Operetta was plainly his strength, and his works in that medium remain his best known. But he soaked up enough of the German tradition (in 1883 he played in a tribute concert to Liszt, with Brahms of all people conducting) to want to write serious music, and he notched several major disasters in that field. That in turn has led to neglect of smaller works like the ones on this album, which contains several gems.

Herbert von Karajan was head of the Berliner Philharmoniker from 1956 until his death in 1989. In addition to countless orchestral recordings, he created some immortal opera recordings: '' Don Carlos '' is one of these opera recordings that have since become historically significant: In 1986, the Salzburg Easter Festival was staged by an internationally top-class soloist duo (José Carreras, Agnes Baltsa, Ferrucio Furlanetto and Piero Cappuccilli ) on legend Karajan with the Berliner Philharmoniker and the Salzburg Concert Choir.