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Title: Herbert von Karajan, Berliner Philharmoniker – Tchaikovsky: Symphony No.3 ‘Polish’… [Japanese SHM-SACD 2016]
Genre: Classical
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Herbert von Karajan leads the Berliner Philharmoniker in a wonderful performance of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s unique five movement major key Symphony No. 3 plus Marche Slave & Capriccio Italien. Dispite this SHM-SACD marked as Original Japanese SACD, every performance on this disc, including “Marche Slave” and “Capriccio Italien”, are identical to the featured on the “Karajan Conducts Tchaikovsky” box set.

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Title: Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan – Tchaikovsky: 6 Symphonies (1979) [Japan 2017]
Genre: Classical
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Herbert von Karajan conducts this performance of Tchaikovsky’s Six Symphonies by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. Although Karajan recorded the last three symphonies many times, he did not turn to the first three until the end of the 1970s. No doubt the reason these early symphonies sound so fresh is because the Berlin orchestra was not over-familiar with them – this belied by the sheer refinement of the orchestral playing. Recorded at the Philharmonie between October 1975 and February 1979, Karajan’s Berliner Philharmoniker cycle is presented on three SHM-SACD, mastered from the analogue recordings, transferred & edited in PCM, then converted to DSD.

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Title: Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan – Beethoven: The Symphonies (1963) [Reissue 2003]
Genre: Classical
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Karajan: Beethoven Symphonies (1963) is a set of studio recordings made in 1961 and 1962 by the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Herbert von Karajan. It is the second of four cycles of Beethoven’s nine symphonies that von Karajan conducted, and the first of three for the German record label Deutsche Grammophon. The complete set was first released in 1963 in Europe, and as a result the cycle of symphonies is now generally known as the 1963 cycle. The cycle is usually now presented across 5 CDs. It is available in 24 bit/96 kHz high definition sound on 6 hybrid SACDs that also containing a rehearsal session for the ninth symphony.

Herbert von Karajan recorded Ludwig van Beethoven’s complete symphonies four times, first in the 1950s with the Philharmonia Orchestra on EMI, then on three more occasions with the Berlin Philharmonic for Deutsche Grammophon. Karajan’s 1963 cycle with Berlin is highly regarded by fans for its consistent interpretations and energetic and emotional playing. Collectors usually rate this set higher than the 1977 and 1985 recordings, also with Berlin on DG, which have been criticized for being somewhat more mechanical in performance and clinical in sound quality. That said, Karajan’s Beethoven is decidedly a product of the mid-20th century, following conventions that tended toward homogenization of orchestral colors, broad pacing, and an exaggerated sense of the heroic, particularly in the Third, Fifth, Seventh, and Ninth. Before the advent of the movement for period performance practices and the wide use of original 18th and 19th century instruments, Karajan’s recordings were widely accepted as the gold standard for Beethoven, though the historically informed interpretations by John Eliot Gardiner, Roy Goodman, and Christopher Hogwood have, by way of comparison, made most of the mainstream versions of Beethoven seem heavy and stodgy. Listeners who grew up with Karajan’s recordings will appreciate this set, though they are likely to own it already.

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Title: Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan – Beethoven: The 9 Symphonies (1977) [Japan 2018]
Genre: Classical
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

To commemorate the 110th birthday anniversary of “Emperor of the Stage” Herbert von Karajan, “Beethoven: Complete Symphonies” recorded with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra from 1975 to 1977 was re-released on May 23, 2018. Karajan completed the Beethoven symphony cycle six times in his lifetime. This work is the second complete cycle recording, with the Berlin Philharmonic performing at their peak. The latest DSD master produced in 2018 at Emil Berliner Studios in Germany from the original analog master of Deutsche Grammophon in Germany was used to prepare this 4-discs boxset.

If Karajan’s 1963 set of Beethoven symphony recordings (recorded 1961-62 on DG) is generally hailed as one of the overall best cycles, Karajan-77 might in some ways be the better Karajan-Beethoven cycle – namely because it is more typical of Karajan and what he had achieved with the Berlin Philharmonic in the many years they were his orchestra. In the same way, the 1980s cycle might be considered as the exaggerated characteristic of everything that was questionable about Karajan’s particular approach – a trend toward homogeneity gone wrong, with edges first overstated, then smoothed over, and captured in sound worse than either of the predecessors. Karajan ’77 is a more collaborative effort with his orchestra, the detailed sound and clarity of his earlier Beethoven married to the homogenous orchestral sound that is said to have been his ideal. Although the timings are not very different from the earlier cycle (in the “Eroica” Karajan shaves off over two minutes from his previous account, [inadvertently?] coming close to Beethoven’s metronome markings), the symphonies often ‘feel’ a little bit more deliberate because the saturated, secure sound of the orchestra and recording remove any sense of instability, nervous energy.

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