Herbert von Karajan

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

92

Gender

Male

Birthday

1908-04-05

Day of death

1989-07-16 (81 years old)

Place of Birth

Salzburg, Austria

Herbert von Karajan

Biography

Herbert von Karajan (born Heribert Ritter[a] von Karajan; 5 April 1908 – 16 July 1989) was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, with the Vienna Philharmonic, the Berlin Philharmonic, and during the Second World War he conducted at the Berlin State Opera. Generally regarded as one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, he was a controversial but dominant figure in European classical music from the mid-1950s until his death. Part of the reason for this was the large number of recordings he made and their prominence during his lifetime. By one estimate, he was the top-selling classical music recording artist of all time, having sold an estimated 200 million records. The Karajans were of Macedonian Greek ancestry. Herbert's great-great-grandfather, Georg Karajan (Geórgios Karajánnis, Greek: Γεώργιος Καραγιάννης), was born in Kozani, in the Ottoman province of Rumelia (now in Greece), leaving for Vienna in 1767, and eventually Chemnitz, Electorate of Saxony. His last name, like several other Ottoman-era ones, contains the Turkish language prefix "kara", which means "black". He and his brother participated in the establishment of Saxony's cloth industry, and both were ennobled for their services by Frederick Augustus III on 1 June 1792, thus adding the prefix "von" to the family name. This usage disappeared with the abolition of Austrian nobility after World War I. The surname Karajánnis became Karajan. Although traditional biographers ascribed a Slovak and Serbian or simply a Slavic origin to his mother, Karajan's family from the maternal side, through his grandfather who was born in the village of Mojstrana, Duchy of Carniola (today in Slovenia), was Slovene. Aromanian heritage has also been claimed. Through the Slovene line, Karajan was related to the Slovenian-Austrian composer Hugo Wolf. He also seems to have known some Slovene. Heribert Ritter von Karajan was born in Salzburg, Austria-Hungary, the second son of senior consultant Ernst von Karajan (1868–1951) and Marta (née Martha Kosmač; 1881–1954) (married 1905). He was a child prodigy at the piano. From 1916 to 1926, he studied at the Mozarteum in Salzburg with Franz Ledwinka (piano), Franz Zauer (harmony), and Bernhard Paumgartner (composition and chamber music). He was encouraged to concentrate on conducting by Paumgartner, who detected his exceptional promise in that regard. In 1926 Karajan graduated from the conservatory and continued his studies at the Vienna Academy, studying piano with Josef Hofmann (a teacher with the same name as the pianist) and conducting with Alexander Wunderer and Franz Schalk. Karajan made his debut as a conductor in Salzburg on 22 January 1929. The performance got the attention of the general manager of the Stadttheater in Ulm and led to Karajan's first appointment as assistant Kapellmeister of the theater. His senior colleague in Ulm was Otto Schulmann. After Schulmann was forced to leave Germany in 1933 with the NSDAP takeover, Karajan was promoted to first Kapellmeister. ... Source: Article "Herbert von Karajan" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Known For

  • Le Grand Échiquier

    Le Grand Échiquier

  • Le Grand Échiquier

    Le Grand Échiquier

  • aspekte

    aspekte

  • Zeugen des Jahrhunderts

    Zeugen des Jahrhunderts

  • Karajan: Mozart Violin Concerto No 5, Dvorak Symphony No.9

    Karajan: Mozart Violin Concerto No 5, Dvorak Symphony No.9

  • La Bohème

    La Bohème

  • Herbert von Karajan: Maestro for the Screen

    Herbert von Karajan: Maestro for the Screen

  • Otello

    Otello

  • Madama Butterfly

    Madama Butterfly

  • Beethoven - Symphony No. 7

    Beethoven - Symphony No. 7

  • Der Sport-Spiegel

    Der Sport-Spiegel

  • The Art of Conducting: Great Conductors of the Past

    The Art of Conducting: Great Conductors of the Past

  • Eroica - Director's Cut

    Eroica - Director's Cut

  • Karajan - Bruckner - Symphonies Nos. 8 & 9

    Karajan - Bruckner - Symphonies Nos. 8 & 9

  • Pastorale

    Pastorale

  • Don Giovanni

    Don Giovanni

  • Verdi – Messa da Requiem

    Verdi – Messa da Requiem

  • Rostropovich: L'archet Indomptable

    Rostropovich: L'archet Indomptable

  • Eroica

    Eroica

  • Karajan: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Requiem

    Karajan: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Requiem

  • Il Trovatore - Verdi

    Il Trovatore - Verdi

  • Clouzot filme Karajan : la Symphonie du Nouveau Monde de Dvořák

    Clouzot filme Karajan : la Symphonie du Nouveau Monde de Dvořák

  • Karajan - Beethoven: The 9 Symphonies DVD

    Karajan - Beethoven: The 9 Symphonies DVD

  • Biographies

    Biographies

  • Beethoven · Missa Solemnis (Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan)

    Beethoven · Missa Solemnis (Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan)

  • Karajan Brahms Ein Deutsches Requiem

    Karajan Brahms Ein Deutsches Requiem

  • Wagner: Das Rheingold

    Wagner: Das Rheingold

  • Yehudi Menuhin und Herbert von Karajan – Mozart: Konzert für Violine und Orchester Nr. 5

    Yehudi Menuhin und Herbert von Karajan – Mozart: Konzert für Violine und Orchester Nr. 5

  • The Berliner Philharmoniker’s New Year’s Eve Concert: 1977

    The Berliner Philharmoniker’s New Year’s Eve Concert: 1977

  • Karajan: Portrait of a Maestro

    Karajan: Portrait of a Maestro

  • Zeichen der Zeit

    Zeichen der Zeit

  • Karajan: Beauty As I See It

    Karajan: Beauty As I See It

  • Herbert von Karajan: Verdi: Requiem

    Herbert von Karajan: Verdi: Requiem

  • Karajan dirigiert Beethovens Siebente (Directors Cut)

    Karajan dirigiert Beethovens Siebente (Directors Cut)

  • The Clouzot Scandal

    The Clouzot Scandal

  • Tchaikovsky: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in B-Flat, Op. 23 (Karajan, Weissenberg, 1967)

    Tchaikovsky: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in B-Flat, Op. 23 (Karajan, Weissenberg, 1967)

  • Karajan · Die Symphonien

    Karajan · Die Symphonien

  • Karajan dirigiert Beethovens fünfte Symphonie

    Karajan dirigiert Beethovens fünfte Symphonie

  • Karajan: Beethoven - Symphonies 1, 2 & 3

    Karajan: Beethoven - Symphonies 1, 2 & 3

  • Herbert von Karajan – The Second Life

    Herbert von Karajan – The Second Life

  • Vivaldi - The Four Seasons / Von Karajan, Mutter, Berlin Philharmonic

    Vivaldi - The Four Seasons / Von Karajan, Mutter, Berlin Philharmonic

  • Der Rosenkavalier

    Der Rosenkavalier

  • Verdi: Falstaff

    Verdi: Falstaff

  • Beethoven: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 61

    Beethoven: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 61

  • Bach: Magnificat - Karajan

    Bach: Magnificat - Karajan

  • Grace Bumbry is Carmen

    Grace Bumbry is Carmen

  • Karajan: Bach: Violin Concerto No. 2: New Year's Eve Concert 1984

    Karajan: Bach: Violin Concerto No. 2: New Year's Eve Concert 1984

  • Der Rosenkavalier

    Der Rosenkavalier

  • Karajan: Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony no. 9

    Karajan: Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony no. 9

  • Karajan - Der Maestro und sein Festival

    Karajan - Der Maestro und sein Festival

  • Karajan: Beethoven: Violin Concerto

    Karajan: Beethoven: Violin Concerto

  • Karajan in Rehearsal

    Karajan in Rehearsal

  • Herbert von Karajan conducts Beethoven's Symphony No. 9

    Herbert von Karajan conducts Beethoven's Symphony No. 9

  • Herbert von Karajan, Symphonie n°5 Beethoven

    Herbert von Karajan, Symphonie n°5 Beethoven

  • Herbert von Karajan: Verdi: Don Carlo

    Herbert von Karajan: Verdi: Don Carlo

  • Karajan In Concert

    Karajan In Concert

  • Beethoven Symphony No. 9

    Beethoven Symphony No. 9

  • Karajan: Richard Strauss: Eine Alpensinfonie / Also Sprach Zarathustra

    Karajan: Richard Strauss: Eine Alpensinfonie / Also Sprach Zarathustra

  • Karajan: Mozart - Coronation Mass

    Karajan: Mozart - Coronation Mass

  • Karajan: Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphonies nos. 1-4

    Karajan: Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphonies nos. 1-4

  • Karajan: Beethoven - Symphonies 7, 8 & 9

    Karajan: Beethoven - Symphonies 7, 8 & 9

  • Karajan: Beethoven: Symphony 1 & 8

    Karajan: Beethoven: Symphony 1 & 8

  • Brahms: The Symphonies

    Brahms: The Symphonies

  • Karajan: Richard Strauss: Tod und Verklarung / Metamorphosen

    Karajan: Richard Strauss: Tod und Verklarung / Metamorphosen

  • Rostropovich Life & Art

    Rostropovich Life & Art

  • Karajan: New Year's Eve Concert

    Karajan: New Year's Eve Concert

  • Don Carlo

    Don Carlo

  • Dvorak: Symphony No. 9: From the New World

    Dvorak: Symphony No. 9: From the New World

  • Cavalleria rusticana / Pagliacci

    Cavalleria rusticana / Pagliacci

  • Karajan: Beethoven - Symphonies 4, 5 & 6

    Karajan: Beethoven - Symphonies 4, 5 & 6

  • Karajan: Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphonies nos. 5-8

    Karajan: Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphonies nos. 5-8

  • Impressions of Herbert Von Karajan

    Impressions of Herbert Von Karajan

  • Neujahrskonzert der Wiener Philharmoniker 1987

    Neujahrskonzert der Wiener Philharmoniker 1987

  • Beethoven - Symphony No. 8

    Beethoven - Symphony No. 8

  • Herbert von Karajan: Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6

    Herbert von Karajan: Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6

  • Karajan: Strauss: Death and Transfiguration & Metamorphosen

    Karajan: Strauss: Death and Transfiguration & Metamorphosen

  • Karajan: 1988 New Year's Concert - Prokofiev & Tchaikovsky

    Karajan: 1988 New Year's Concert - Prokofiev & Tchaikovsky

  • Karajan: Antonin Dvorak: Symphony No. 8

    Karajan: Antonin Dvorak: Symphony No. 8

  • Karajan: Brahms: German Requiem

    Karajan: Brahms: German Requiem

  • Karajan: Richard Strauss: Don Quixote / Ein Heldenleben

    Karajan: Richard Strauss: Don Quixote / Ein Heldenleben

  • Herbert Von Karajan: Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5

    Herbert Von Karajan: Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5

  • Herbert von Karajan: Live in Osaka

    Herbert von Karajan: Live in Osaka

  • Von Reinhardt bis Karajan - 50 Jahre Salzburger Festspiele

    Von Reinhardt bis Karajan - 50 Jahre Salzburger Festspiele

  • Karajan Tchaikovsky Symphonies 4, 5 & 6

    Karajan Tchaikovsky Symphonies 4, 5 & 6

  • Karajan: Opening Concert - Berlin 750 Years

    Karajan: Opening Concert - Berlin 750 Years

  • Karajan conducts Ravel and Debussy

    Karajan conducts Ravel and Debussy

  • Beethoven - Symphony No. 5

    Beethoven - Symphony No. 5

  • Inside Karajan

    Inside Karajan

  • Herbert Von Karajan - Berliner Philarmoniker - Debussy: La Mer, Prélude A L'après-midi D'un Faune - Ravel: Daphnis Et Chloé Suite No. 2

    Herbert Von Karajan - Berliner Philarmoniker - Debussy: La Mer, Prélude A L'après-midi D'un Faune - Ravel: Daphnis Et Chloé Suite No. 2

  • Herbert Von Karajan: Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4

    Herbert Von Karajan: Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4

  • Herbert Von Karajan: Dvorák - Symphony No. 9

    Herbert Von Karajan: Dvorák - Symphony No. 9

  • Herbert Von Karajan - New Year's Concert Vienna 1987

    Herbert Von Karajan - New Year's Concert Vienna 1987