As we leave CDs behind and move into downloads – where music will no longer be a collectors item but just another dreary list on your computer screen – somebody at Universal Classics at least has a sense of history. It is five decades since Herbert von Karajan’s 1963 set of the Beethoven symphonies with the Berlin Philharmonic was released. It was not the first recording of these works by the one orchestra and conductor – Karajan himself had recorded them in the 1950s with the Philharmonia – but it was the first to be released and marketed as a set. DG executives were worried the gamble would fail and they wouldn’t break even, but within ten years a million copies had been sold. I once stayed with two lumberjacks in Banff, Canada: these were only classical records they owned. It was everybody’s introduction to Beethoven. The orchestra made these recordings after five years with Karajan in charge. During that time he had hired young players and retired older ones. He also had begun to insist on the ‘long line’ of lyrical impulse, but not yet the moulding of orchestral balance to prioritise beauty of sound over energy and attack….

Christian Thielemann hand picks Australian singer to front his latest Brahms’ Requiem. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Daniel Barenboim among those wishing a happy birthday to the distinguished British maestro. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Sir Simon Rattle reveals why the Berliner Philharmoniker decided to launch its own record label.

For long regarded as a lower grade symphonist by sniffy critics of the past, Robert Schumann’s orchestral output has been reassessed thanks to illuminating period aware performances that have aerated his supposedly thick orchestration and revealed a timbral spectrum that was obscured by the overlay of late-19th-century orchestral technique. Conductors on the traditional side have overcome problems with textual tampering while revelling in the weighty sound at their disposal, so it’s no surprise that Sir Simon Rattle chooses to sit on that particular fence considering the character of his orchestral forces. Despite the essay espousing the Berliner Philharmoniker’s long tradition of Schumann performance, today’s orchestra sounds very different to earlier incarnations with a vibrant transparency and a responsive flexibility that allows the ensemble to turn on a dime – a long way from the luxurious juggernaut of yesteryear.  The string sound, while still luxuriant, is exquisitely focused and supple while the wind section is predictably magnificent, boasting starry names such as Emmanuel Pahud and Albrecht Mayer. Symphonies 1 & 4 (here in its original 1841 form) inhabit a Mendelssohnian sound world that suits Rattle’s approach and for me the fourth symphony is the standout performance of the… Continue reading Get…

Sir Simon becomes the AWO’s latest big-hitter, and this time he’s bringing the wife! Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Chief Conductor and orchestra support their colleagues in the Berlin Radio Choir.

After a century on record, why has the world’s most famous orchestra decided to strike out with its own label?

Orchestra celebrates their old maestro in the Digital Concert Hall for the 25th anniversary of his death.

In his native China, Yundi is as close to a pop star as a classical musician can get, with millions of Twitter followers, screaming fans, and sold-out tours. On hearing this fresh and sometimes even inspired performance of the venerable old Emperor Concerto, it’s easy to understand the fuss. Of course having Daniel Harding conduct the Berlin Philharmonic is a huge bonus, his tempi generally quick but never sounding rushed, and with the whole thing having a sense of excitement. But from the moment Yundi himself enters with that famous theme, it’s clear that this is a young soloist who really has the goods, oddly enough, without affectation or mannerism – just lovely clear, musical insight and a singing, legato line. And then there’s the slow movement, which really is so rapt in mood and played with such poetic lyricism that you not only start falling in love with it all over again but even consider comparing Yundi’s spell-binding performance with that of the greats. The coupling, though, is rather unusual, Schumann’s solo-piano Fantasie in C Major, presumably there for a good reason but it’s one that’s not immediately apparent. Good enough in itself, Schumann’s three-movement classic, which originated in…

The BPO marks the passing of former Chief Conductor Claudio Abbado with a host of free material. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

At a Prom concert in the Royal Albert Hall a few years ago, a few seconds after the famous bassoon passage at the beginning of the Rite of Spring, a mobile phone sounded. Sir Simon Rattle simply stopped the Berlin Philharmonic and started again. It makes you thankful they didn’t exist when Szell and Klemperer were around. This was the work that catapulted the then 21 year-old tyro conductor into the limelight when he conducted it with the Youth orchestra of Great Britain in 1976. I remember it vividly: I was there. Since then, he also recorded it during his tenure with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Whereas that was a respectable reading, this is in another league. In terms of tempos, colour and rhythm, it’s superb. The barbarism is beautifully tempered with finesse. It’s one of the great Rites. The only version I’d put above it is the stereo re-make by Igor Markevich and the aristocratic Philharmonia in 1960 where the orchestral shriek at the opening of the second part is… Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in