Generally fine Karajan survey, with some surprise inclusions
Alexander Leach | Shipley, West Yorkshire United Kingdom | 12/01/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This is a well-made rigid box with the 10 card digipak releases issued for Karajan's centenary in 2008. There are some fine recordings in here but some odd omissions - no Sibelius, Bruckner or Wagner?
The period covered is from 1959 (his excellent Ein Heldenleben) to 1979: a surprisingly good Beethoven Violin Concerto with Mutter, where the rather reverential tempi, chosen by Mutter, are rather better handled by Karajan than his young soloist; in fact some of the orchestral tutti are really very gripping. This is better than i was expecting to be honest. The CD is short measure, but the Mozart Requiem and Coronation Mass CD lasting 79 minutes gives some compensation.
There are two symphonies each by Beethoven and Brahms from the 1960: the Eroica is very fine, and the Fourth even better. This was the hardest of the Nine to bring off according to Karajan, but this one has long been a favourite and is one of the best ever recorded. The Brahms Second and Third are also enjoyable if hardly top choices; the BPO here sound rather leaner and more intense than they later became.
The Tchaikovsky CD pairs the famous Rostropovich Rococo Variations with Richter's First Piano Concerto. Of the four pianists who recorded this work with Karajan (a good quiz question), Berman's is objectively the finest, but this is notable for the soloist's incredibly commanding playing, even if he and Karajan famously can't agree on the tempo for the finale's second subject.
The Debussy/Ravel collection including the famous 1964 La Mer is indispensable, though the Bolero is substandard with some rhythmic instability. The Rite of Spring here is Karajan's first rather than the mid-1970s one issued with Prokofiev on DG's Originals series - it actually sounds very fresh with some interesting details brought out - but neither are really top choices, when excellent versions by Markevitch, Solti, Inbal and Boulez are available. Similarly the Bartok Concerto for Orchestra, though decent, doesn't quite equal recordings by Reiner, Solti and Kocsis (the latter amazing on a Hungaraton SACD).
The most interesting disc is perhaps the Schubert one: this decent 1964 Unfinished isn't as good as Karajan's outstanding recording he made 10 years later, as part of his EMI cycle (a recording which had to be remade after both microphones were found to be defective) - but this Great C major is more distinctive than the later EMI one which Karajan famously 'busked through'; the DG version given here has some amazingly fast tempi and stunning playing, even if the last two movements are perhaps a touch robust.
The famous operatic intermezzi disc is reissued here complete for the first time since the LP era; the Thais Meditation and the intermezzo from Puccini's Manon Lescaut (played very intensely) are the most memorable items.
Generally, the recordings which weren't formerly on DG's Originals have been remastered - this means the Brahms and Schubert symphonies, Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto (which sounds really superb), and the Intermezzi CD.
The presentation is excellent, with a decent if slim booklet with some great photos, while the digipak gatefold sleeves and liner trays have some interesting recording schedules, photos and LP liner notes.
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A good treat for Karajan on his 100th
Samir Kassir | United States | 04/23/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This box-set is highly recommended. It is released on the 100th anniversary of the birth of the conductor of the Berliner Philharmoniker. You may not find a lot of material here as records made by von Karajan run into the hundreds. Serious collectors of Karajan should look for the EMI edition of two box sets of Karajan's works, and they contain up to 70 CDs each (Volume one - orchestral works and volume 2 opera and vocal works). Even then there will be a lot of other records to look for in the DECCA lable and the Deutsche Grammophon label. Those who cannot afford this box set (Master Recordings) and already own some of its CDs may opt for buying inidvidual CDs which are available for purchase and are the same digipack, etc., as the ones in this box-set. The remastering is superb and the artwork of the packaging is of very high quality."
