Berliner Philharmoniker & Herbert von Karajan - Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade, Op.35 / Tchaikovsky: Capriccio Italien, Op.45, TH 47; Overture 1812, Op.49, TH 49 (2016) [Hi-Res]

Whenever Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra came to London in the 1950s and 1960s, the queue for tickets on the first day of booking would coil round the Royal Festival Hall not once but twice. Listening to this recording of a famous 1967 Polydor LP recording of the great man at work, one can understand the attraction. The disc includes three Russian works; Rimsky-Korsakov's Sheherazade with Michel Schwalbe's solo violin playing like a hypnotist's fob-watch; Tchaikovsky's Capriccio Italien with stunning brasses; and the 1812 Overture where even the terrifying cannons sound musical. The very disc itself seems to have a sense of occasion. Karajan makes what is very much a performance recorded rather than a recording performed. It is as if Sheherzade herself were wielding the baton and spellbinding the Sultan night after night. No orchestra and conductor weave this sort of magic today. Only the hasty marketing lets the side down as it cannot even be bothered to unify the spelling on the sleeve. Which is it to be, DG? Sche or She? (Rick Jones)

"The Sheherezade is awesome...and as the Penguin guide and the first reviewer point out, the violin solos are gorgeous. Karajan conducts with passion and the orchestral color is brilliant. The 1812 Overture though sounds rushed and overpolished. I enjoyed hearing the choral introduction used in this 1812, but it just lacks spirit. The cannon sounds don't quite sound like cannons either. I'm not sure what he used. Buy this album for the Sheherezade..."

„. . . [Tchaikovsky: "1812"]: Karajan uses a chorus for the opening Orthodox chant passage, a facet thoroughly at one with a powerful, discriminating performance.“ (Geoffrey Norris, Gramophone (London)

Berliner Philharmoniker
Herbert von Karajan, conductor

Digitally remastered