Karajan conducts Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4

Tchaikovsky poured his whole life into his symphonies, but rarely more passionately – or directly – than in his Fourth Symphony of 1878: an epic struggle from tragedy to celebration, in which shattering fanfares represent the implacable power of Fate. The Vienna Philharmonic was one of the first major orchestras to perform Tchaikovsky's music in the west, and in 1984 they filmed performances of Tchaikovsky's final trilogy of symphonies under the baton of Herbert von Karajan. The playing is unsurpassed for emotional depth and tonal beauty, but with Karajan conducting, the force of the symphony's argument has never been more powerfully expressed.

Ensemble: 

Wiener Philharmoniker

Conductor: 

Herbert von Karajan