Herbert von Karajan

KARAJAN – STATIONS OF HIS LIFE 1908 Born on April 5th in Salzburg. The Karajan family, originally named Karajannis, hailed from Greek Macedonia. Herbert von Karajan's great-great-grandfather emigrated to Saxony and eventually settled in Vienna as a merchant. For his services in promoting trade and industry, he was elevated to the German imperial nobility by Frederick Augustus, Elector of Saxony, on June 1, 1792. As Knights of the Holy Roman Empire, the Karajannis henceforth called themselves "Karajan." 1912 First piano lessons with piano pedagogue and concert director Franz Ledwinka. Exclusive interviews with Herbert von Karajan Watch on STAGE+ 1913 Herbert von Karajan performs for the first time in public at a charity event. 1916–26 Attends the Mozarteum Conservatory in Salzburg. Studies with Franz Ledwinka, Franz Sauer, and Bernhard Paumgartner, who also encourages Karajan to train as a conductor. 1917 January 27: First public appearance as a pianist at a Mozart celebration at the Mozarteum. 1926 Graduates from the Humanist Gymnasium in Salzburg. Thesis on "Thermodynamics and Explosion Engines." Graduate of the Mozarteum. 1926–28 Studies at the Technical University in Vienna and the Musicology Institute of the University of Vienna. 1926–29 Studies at the Vienna University of Music (piano) and completes the conducting class. 1928 December 17: First public conducting performance in Vienna as part of a concert by students of Alexander Wunderer's Kapellmeister school. 1929 January 22: First public appearance as a conductor in Salzburg. April 19: Conducts Salome at the Salzburg Festival Hall. 1929–34 Engaged as first Kapellmeister at the Ulm Municipal Theater. Director of the conducting summer courses at the International Mozarteum Foundation. Guest conductor of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. 1934 August 21: Conducts the Vienna Philharmonic for the first time in Salzburg. 1934–42 Engaged at the Aachen Municipal Theater as director of symphony concerts and opera performances. 1937 June 1: Conducts for the first time at the Vienna State Opera (Tristan und Isolde). 1938 April 8: Conducts the Berlin Philharmonic for the first time. September 30: Conducts for the first time at the Berlin State Opera (Fidelio). October 21: Tristan und Isolde at the Berlin State Opera. The Berlin critic van der Nüll writes about "The Karajan Miracle." First contract with Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft (until 1943). First recording: Overture to The Magic Flute (with the Staatskapelle Berlin). 1939 Appointed State Kapellmeister at the Berlin State Opera. 1946 January 12: First post-war concert with the Vienna Philharmonic in Vienna. First contacts with Walter Legge, Artistic Director of Columbia Records and founder of the London Philharmonia Orchestra. Assistant at the Salzburg Festival. 1947 October: First collaboration with the Singverein der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna. 1948/49 Participates in the Salzburg Festival. from 1948 Artistic Director of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna. Principal Conductor of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. Close collaboration with the London Philharmonia Orchestra. Regular guest conductor at La Scala, Milan. Numerous guest engagements in Europe and overseas. Director of conducting courses in Lucerne and participation in the Lucerne International Music Festival. 1951/52 Participates in the Bayreuth Festival. 1955 Appointed Principal Conductor (from 1956 for life) of the Berlin Philharmonic as successor to Wilhelm Furtwängler. 1957–60 Artistic Director of the Salzburg Festival. 1957–64 Artistic Director of the Vienna State Opera, collaboration with La Scala, Milan. 1958 October 6: Marries Frenchwoman Eliette Mouret. 1959 Resumes collaboration with Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. First stereo recording: Strauss's Ein Heldenleben. 1960 June 25: Birth of daughter Isabel (the Vienna Philharmonic becomes her godparents). 1963 October 15: Inaugural concert of the Berlin Philharmonie (Beethoven's Ninth Symphony). Release of the complete Beethoven Symphony Cycle recording with the Berlin Philharmonic, which becomes one of the most successful classical music recordings. 1963–68 Exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. 1964 January 2: Birth of daughter Arabel (the Berlin Philharmonic becomes her godparents). August: Appointed to the Directorate of the Salzburg Festival. since 1965 Production of concert and opera films, with Karajan acting as director or conductor. Collaboration with French film director Henri-Georges Clouzot. 1967 Beginning of the Salzburg Easter Festival (founded and artistically directed by Herbert von Karajan). March 19: Opening of the Easter Festival with Die Walküre. 1968 March 4: Awarded the "Ring" of the State of Salzburg. April 4: Awarded honorary citizenship of the City of Salzburg. April 8: Awarded the Golden Gramophone by Deutsche Grammophon "as a sign of veneration and gratitude." August 14: Appointed honorary senator of Alma mater paridiana, Salzburg. Founding of the Herbert von Karajan Foundation in Berlin (promotion of scientific activity for the dissemination of conscious musical sensibility); a conducting competition is affiliated with this foundation. 1969 Founding of a "Research Institute of the Herbert von Karajan Foundation for Experimental Music Psychology" at the Psychological Institute of the University of Salzburg. August 31: Art Prize of the City of Lucerne. 1970 New exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. 1973 Beginning of the Salzburg Whitsun Concerts (founded and directed by Herbert von Karajan). 1978 May 12: Awarded Doctor philosophiae h.c. by Alma mater paridiana, Salzburg. June 21: Awarded Doctor of Music h.c. by the University of Oxford. 1979 Prize of the French President for all new recordings of 1978 – award ceremony as part of the Grand Prix international du disque of the Académie Charles Cros in Paris. April 2: Opening of the "International Congress Center" (ICC) in Berlin – musical "consecration" by Karajan and his Philharmonic. May 17: Herbert von Karajan patronizes a new foundation named after him – a gift from the Vienna Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde – dedicated to scientific work, particularly in the neurophysiological field. October 13: Awarded Doctor philosophiae h.c. by Waseda University, Tokyo. 1980 January: First digital recording in Berlin (Mozart: The Magic Flute). August: Herbert von Karajan receives the Clemens Krauss Gold Medal from the board of the Konzertvereinigung Wiener Staatsopernchor. December 7: Gala concert in Berlin celebrating his 25th anniversary as Principal Conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic. 1981 April 15: Presentation of the "Compact Disc Digital Audio System" at the Salzburg Easter Festival. In May, Deutsche Grammophon releases the "Karajan Symphony Edition," which compiles recordings of six symphonic cycles – Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart, Mendelssohn, Schumann, and Tchaikovsky – from the sixties and seventies on 28 records. On July 27, Herbert von Karajan is presented with the Cyril and Methodius Order First Class in the Council of Ministers building in Sofia "for his services in collaboration with Bulgarian artists." December 1: Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic give their first concert in the new Leipzig Gewandhaus. 1982 Founding of the company Telemondial S.A.M. Under Herbert von Karajan's personal direction, his entire repertoire is re-recorded for the newly emerging video disc under his direction. It is a completely new concept, and the video discs will only be released once the equipment has achieved the perfection and completion that Mr. von Karajan had envisioned his entire life. February: Debut of painter Eliette von Karajan. The artist exhibits her paintings on the record sleeves of the "Karajan Edition" in the new "Galleria" series. 50 original paintings adorn 50 record covers with 100 works from Vivaldi to Stravinsky. April 30/May 1: Anniversary concerts celebrating the 100th birthday of the Berlin Philharmonic. June 12: Handover of the first Compact Disc to the conductor (Strauss's Alpensinfonie) in Hamburg during a concert tour with the Berlin Philharmonic. June 14: Mayor Jacques Chirac presents Herbert von Karajan with the "Médaille de Vermeil," the honorary medal of the Seine metropolis, at the Paris City Hall. July 29: Herbert von Karajan's first recording of Puccini's opera Turandot (with Katia Ricciarelli and Plácido Domingo) is presented at the Salzburg Festival. August 2: Final concert of the first vocal studio of the Herbert von Karajan Foundation in Salzburg. October: First US tour with the Berlin Philharmonic since 1976. The concert tour is celebrated as a "triumphant return," the conductor greeted with "standing ovations" at New York's Carnegie Hall. December: Salzburg Governor Dr. Wilfried Haslauer presents Herbert von Karajan, as Principal Conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic, with a commemorative plaque donated by the State of Salzburg to mark the orchestra's 25 years of participation in the Salzburg Festival. 1983 March: The Royal Philharmonic Society, London, honors Herbert von Karajan with the Gold Medal. April 5: Herbert von Karajan celebrates his 75th birthday in his hometown of Salzburg. The State of Salzburg congratulates him with a special postmark. July 26: The Salzburg Festival opens with a new production of Richard Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier (directed and conducted by Herbert von Karajan). A recording of the opera, with Herbert von Karajan and Agnes Baltsa, Janet Perry, Anna Tomowa-Sintow, Kurt Moll, and the Vienna Philharmonic, is released by Deutsche Grammophon in 1984. August: UNESCO International Music Prize to Herbert von Karajan. Herbert von Karajan announces that he intends to produce two concerts annually with the Berlin Philharmonic for ZDF until 1986. The programs, for which he assumes overall artistic direction, are broadcast live. 1984 Release of the first digital recordings of the new Beethoven Symphony Cycle with the Berlin Philharmonic on Deutsche Grammophon Compact Disc. The entire cycle is filmed by Telemondial. 1985 February: Awarded the Golden Camera by Hör Zu magazine. April 2: Signs a new long-term contract with Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. June 29: During the Mass celebrated by Pope John Paul II on the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, Herbert von Karajan conducts Mozart's Coronation Mass with the Wiener Singverein and the Vienna Philharmonic. For the first time, an orchestra and its conductor were permitted to perform a concert in the Vatican during a religious service. The event is broadcast worldwide on television and filmed by Telemondial. August: On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Großes Festspielhaus, Herbert von Karajan receives the "Ehrenring" (Ring of Honor) of the Salzburg Festival. A jubilee concert takes place on the occasion of his 30th anniversary as Principal Conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic. 1986 January 25/26: Memorial concert in Berlin on the 100th birthday of Wilhelm Furtwängler, who died in 1954. Performance of Verdi's Don Carlos at the Salzburg Easter Festival, with José Carreras, Ferruccio Furlanetto, Fiamma Izzo D'Amico, Agnes Baltsa, and the Berlin Philharmonic. The performance is broadcast live on television in many European countries. June: For his services to the preservation of cultural heritage and especially for his achievements at the Salzburg Festival, Herbert von Karajan receives the Olympia Prize from the Alexander Onassis Foundation in Athens. Karajan dedicates the prize money to supporting young singers. August 23: Deutsche Grammophon presents Herbert von Karajan's first Don Giovanni recording (with Samuel Ramey in the title role, Anna Tomowa-Sintow, Agnes Baltsa, Kathleen Battle, Gösta Winbergh, Ferruccio Furlanetto, and the Berlin Philharmonic) at the Salzburg Festival. 1987 January 1: Herbert von Karajan conducts the New Year's Concert of the Vienna Philharmonic for the first time in the Großer Musikvereinssaal in Vienna. The concert is broadcast worldwide on television. New production of Mozart's Don Giovanni at the Salzburg Easter and Summer Festivals. May 1: Opening concert of the 750th anniversary celebration in Berlin (Mozart: Divertimento KV 334; Richard Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra). June: Herbert von Karajan undertakes a European tour with the Berlin Philharmonic, with concerts in London, Brussels, and Paris. October 28: Opening concert of the new Chamber Music Hall of the Berlin Philharmonie with Vivaldi's Four Seasons. Soloist: Anne-Sophie Mutter. November: Highly acclaimed Germany tour (six cities) with the Berlin Philharmonic. 1988 Spring: For Herbert von Karajan's 80th birthday on April 5, Deutsche Grammophon releases a Karajan Edition: "100 Masterpieces" with paintings by his wife Eliette on 25 CDs. For Herbert von Karajan's 50th recording anniversary with Deutsche Grammophon, early recordings from 1938–43 are released on CD for the first time. April/May: Japan tour with the Berlin Philharmonic. October: Europe and USA tour with the Berlin Philharmonic. 1989 February: Last guest appearance in the USA with the Vienna Philharmonic. July 16: Herbert von Karajan, who is in Salzburg for rehearsals of Verdi's Un ballo in maschera, dies of heart failure at his home in Anif near Salzburg. 9/2007