Complete Karajan Decca Recordings

A few years ago, when I first started noticing the availability of what now seem ubiquitous, mega-box sets with 50 or more discs, often selling for a buck a disc (or less), I thought that they were too good to pass up, and whenever possible I'd grab them. Sets like the Decca, Mercury Living Presence, and so forth. Toscanini, 72 volumes in 85 discs from RCA! How could I resist? (Well, I couldn't, as it happens). I figured - get them while I can. It can't last forever! Can it?Well, here we are, and these mega boxes keep coming. And I keep buying them, go figure. I saw this Karajan box, selling for under a buck a disc when I managed to grab it, and once again I found it irresistible.Now, aside from justifying this purchase solely on that basis, as if a hundred bucks is something most people can casually throw away, bargain or not, I can see a few logical reasons to consider obtaining this box set:1) If you're a big Karajan fan, and don't already have many or most of these performances (or you have them in earlier non-remastered form), then this is probably a must-buy.2) If you're new to classical music, or still building a collection and want a good cross section of orchestral music, in excellent performances from a master conductor leading the best orchestras of our time, this is also a great value. It would similarly make a superb gift for someone who is beginning to explore classical music.3) If you're an established collector with an already generously filled music library, as I am, you might find this to be a worthwhile addition due to the broad coverage of music in performances that are almost all worth hearing, at a price that is very modest for what you get. In particular, although the music here is largely familiar works by well-known composers, there are a number of performances of music that I at least have not heard before. For example, the recording of Kurt Leimer's two works, the Piano Concerto in C Minor and his Piano Concerto for the left hand, with Leimer himself performing on piano the work that had ben premiered with Karajan at the Musikverein in Vienna in 1953 (disc 7 of Box 2, recorded in 1954 at Kingsway Hall in London). How fascinating is that?!This box set contains all of the thirteen (13) of the individual box sets previously released by EMI/Warner to collect Karajan's performances over the years (1946 through 1984) with that label. Here are the full contents, with links to the separate releases and a brief description of what is contained in each box included here:Box 1:  J.S. Bach, Beethoven, Brahms: Choral Music, 1947-1958, Herbert von Karajan conducting the Vienna Philharmonic and the Philharmonia Orchestra (5 CDs) Box 2:  Karajan and his Soloists I, 1948-1958, Herbert von Karajan conducting the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Lucerne Festival Orchestra, and Philharmonia Orchestra, (8 CDs) Box 3:  Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, R. Strauss: Opera Arias, 1946-1949, Herbert von Karajan conducting the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, (10 CDs) Box 4:  Orchestral Spectaculars from Handel to Bartok, 1949-1960, Herbert von Karajan conducting the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and the Philharmonia Orchestra, (13 CDs) Box 5:  Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky, Borodin, Balakirev, Stravinsky, 1949-1960, Herbert von Karajan conducting the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and the Philharmonia Orchestra, (7 CDs) Box 6:  Beethoven: Symphonies 1-9, Overtures, 1951-1955, Herbert von Karajan conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra, (6 CDs) Box 7:  Mozart, Schubert, Brahms, J. Strauss, Wagner, R. Strauss, 1951-1960, Herbert von Karajan conducting the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and the Philharmonia Orchestra, (12 CDs) Box 8:  Karajan and his Soloists II, 1969-1984, Herbert von Karajan conducting the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra de Paris, and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, (10 CDs) Box 9:  Berlioz, Franck, Debussy, Ravel, Tchaikovsky, Dvorak, Bartok, 1970-1981, Herbert von Karajan conducting the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Orchestra de Paris, (7 CDs) Box 10:  Haydn, Mozart, Schubert Symphonies, 1970-1981, Herbert von Karajan conducting the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, (8 CDs) Box 11:  Brahms, Bruckner, Wagner, R. Strauss, Schmidt, 1970-1981, Herbert von Karajan conducting the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, (6 CDs) Box 12:  Haydn, Beethoven, Brahms, Choral Music, 1972-1976, Herbert von Karajan conducting the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, (5 CDs) Box 13:  Sibelius, 1976-1981, Herbert von Karajan conducting the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, (4 CDs) The entire collection is housed in a heavy cardboard box, open to one side for easy access to each of the smaller boxes. Those individual boxes hold the CDs securely (they are not open at the end but open book-like), and also include individual booklets written for each of the 13 smaller collections. Each of those small booklets includes a short essay on the particular performances in that box, in four languages and including the dates and venues of each of the recordings.As a final comment, although I have not yet sampled all of the discs in the first several boxes here, the recording quality of the very early performances is quite satisfactory to my ears. I do note that some of the reviewers mention some audible hiss or perhaps other defects present in some of the early recordings.Overall, a very considerable bargain for a broad collection of worthwhile music and performances.

An excellent bargain any way you look at it. Great transfers. Everything has been written about this set so I won't even go there. I do like the smaller glossy boxes that house the individual recordings and appreciate the double and triple set recordings housed in separate cardboardsleeves rather than those bulky and difficult folders. Discs fit loosely in their sleeves and are easy to remove. Each set contains a booklet describing the era and recording enclosed. I had no problem with the pre-fifties recordings and thought the transfers were in excellent mono. You don't find outstanding bargains that often so you better grab it now. Would be a great introduction to the classics. The never before released Beethoven 9th in early stereo is a big plus as well. I also have the pre-sixties Membran set which includes all of von Karajan's early opera sets as well as a few broadcasts in good sound including Don Carlos, Aida, Siegfried and a Die Walkure from La Scala. A fun box as well with comparable transfers and a mono 9th to compare with the newly released stereo bonus in the commercial box. It is financially another winner as well and will give you enough von Karajan to last through the ages.

This set is a fine collection: 5 Strauss tone poems, 2 symphonies each of Mozart, Haydn, Brahms, 1 each of Dvorak and Beethoven, Ballet suites of Adam and Tchaikovsky, Overtures and concert pieces of the Josef and Johan Strausses, Holst's Planets and Grieg's Peer Gynt suites. Vocally there are 2 operas of Verdi (Aida, Otello), 3 of Puccini (Boheme, Tosca, Butterfly), plus Fledermaus, Boris, Carmen, and Figaro (that's right, only 9 not 10 operas).There is not a bad set in the lot. Well worth your time and money. All are stereo; all are classic performances.

This is a great set. It has some of Karajan's best recordings. Some I'd heard before and some were a revelation. I picked this up for about $1 a disk, and at that price, you can't go wrong even if you don't like half of it. I don't care for Bruckner, and Karajan is not my pick for anything written before Beethoven. But I was pleased to hear some old friends in new re-masterings that sound quite good. Certainly you can't do much with pre-stereo recordings, but they did about as much as possible, and many are better than expected. I grew up listening to the 50s recording of Beethoven's 5th, and I hadn't heard it for many decades, so that was a nostalgic treat. I realized that this recording was imprinted into my young mind as the way the piece goes! This set is that it is missing some of Karajan's best work with Vienna including  Dvorak: Sym No 8 / Brahms: Sym No 3  circa 1960 on Decca. That recording of Dvorak #8 is still my favorite. For those you need to acquire Karajan: Legendary Decca Recordings .

What is here is wonderful, with the spacious "Decca sound" that was highly praised in its day. However, as with the Tebaldi "Complete Decca Recordings" (now apparently out of print), Decca has omitted a recording, one that Karajan made with the Vienna Philharmonic. I refer to the ballet music for "Die Fledermaus" that was used for the two-LP release of that classic set. It was replaced by the (in)famous "Gala" sequence for the three-LP set and for all subsequent releases. The ballet could quite easily have fit on disc six with the other Strauss music.For shame, Decca.

A ce prix extrêmement raisonnable , voila une vue d'ensemble exaltante sur la carrière de Karajan avec le Philharmonia , puis avec Vienne ( peu , ici ) et Berlin .Le prix n'a pas flambé , pour l'instant , et tout mélomane amoureux de musique symphonique , en particulier , devrait se précipiter .Un boitier solide , des coffrets en carton solide , des notices en français ( de moins en moins fréquent ! ) et la belle et bonne idée : sur les pochettes , une multitude de photos noir et blanc de Karajan dirigeant , émouvantes et révélatrices !Les notices ne sont pas systématiquement élogieuses : surprenant mais intéressant ...Une lacune : l'absence d'un index général par compositeurs , qui aurait bien facilité la recherche et les comparaisons entre époques d'enregistrement .J'en profite pour souligner une lecture indispensable : la biographie ( non traduite ; en anglais ) , faite par John Osborne : " Karajan A Life in Music " , qui apporte beaucoup d'éléments sur les choix de direction de Karajan ,sa technique , ses goûts musicaux ...La qualité sonore : excellente voire superlative pour les sessions avec Berlin .Je souligne aussi que les enregistrements mono des années 50 avec le Philharmonia sont très satisfaisants , vivants , pleins de relief , et n'ont vraiment pas grand chose à envier aux prises des débuts de la stéréo .Seuls les enregistrements de la fin des années 40 ( peu nombreux : surtout le coffret avec Vienne 1946/1949 ) peuvent être ingrats . ( Ecoutes faites avec des enceintes hdg qui ne laissent rien passer des défauts ) .Les commentaires de chacun vont évidemment varier en fonction de ses centres d'intérêt pré-existants à l'écoute .Commençons par les réserves et les déceptions , grandes ou relatives .Ainsi , la Missa Solemnis et le Requiem Allemand , enregistrés deux fois ici , ne m'ont jamais véritablement intéressé , quels que soient le chef et les solistes , car leur caractère hybride , ni sacrés ni totalement profanes , me gêne et ôte l'émotion .Les symphonies de Haydn ( peu nombreuses : toujours les plus connues ! ) , de Mozart ( peu nombreuses : toujours les plus connues ! ) , de Schubert et de Brahms bénéficient évidemment d'une grande mise au point technique et se situent à un niveau élevé , que ce soit avec le Philharmonia , Vienne ou Berlin , mais sans creuser l'écart , me semble-t-il , avec les versions d'autres grands chefs de l'après-guerre . Nous les avons tellement écoutées , ces oeuvres ...Il ne m'a jamais semblé que Karajan ait des affinités très profondes avec le XVIII ° siècle , bien qu'il fut un grand chef d'opéra mozartien ( Cosi , Noces ... ) ; ses Schubert et Brahms ne témoignent pas d'un engagement particulier , à l'écoute , et n'emportent pas l'auditeur .Les concertos pour piano de Beethoven : Gieseking n'enchante pas mais le pire , et de loin , ce sont les versions avec Weissenberg : je crois que je n'avais encore rien entendu d'aussi froid et peu expressif . Que trouvait donc Karajan à Weissenberg ? Mystère .La Symphonie Fantastique : elle est certes handicapée par une prise de son qui ne peut rendre la rutilance et la sauvagerie de l'orchestre ; cependant , je crois que Karajan , malgré l'excellente mise en place , est resté un peu en dehors de l'oeuvre , échouant à rendre complètement son caractère emporté , fantasque ...Il n'est vraiment plus possible , en 2020 , d'écouter Water Music sur une grande phalange orchestrale et Vivaldi , Telemann , pas davantage ...Les compagnies de disques souhaitaient qu'il enregistre " tout " , mais , en fait , en privilégiant d'abord les classiques éprouvés , les " inusables " et les chevaux de bataille ...D'où beaucoup de disques mais un répertoire de Karajan finalement pas si vaste que cela ...Les piliers de ce somptueux monument , qui , pour moi , justifient totalement l'achat :Avec Lucerne : Lippati dans Mozart , malgré la prise de son ...Avec Vienne : les Metamorphoses de StraussAvec le Philharmonia , de 46 à 61 , pour l'essentiel :- les symphonies 4 , 5 , 6 de Tchaikovsky : épurées , d'une grande hauteur de vue , gommant les attendrissements et la guimauve . Bref , classiques !- les autres compositeurs russes du XIX ° siècle- la Messe en Si , surtout pour les lumineuses interventions de Schwarzkopf- sa première intégrale des symphonies de Beethoven : je les ai toutes , pour Herr Karajan , et celle-ci reste ma préférée avec la version des années 70 que pourrait accompagner celle du début des années 60 ... C'est un Beethoven aux vifs contrastes dynamiques , clair et net , sans pathos et emphase , enlevé , avec un orchestre engagé et survolté et qui sait ce qu'il doit à Karajan qui l'a mené au plus haut niveau ...La remastérisation est nouvelle mais ne m'a pas semblé supérieure à celle de mon coffret EMI Angel de 2009- les symphonies 2 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 de Sibelius ( 52 , 53 , 55 , 60 ) : affinités évidentes de Karajan avec cette musique , qui rejoignait ses préoccupations spirituelles- la musique pour cordes , percussion et celesta de Bartok- les trois suites de Bizet , somptueusement valorisées- d'excellents Debussy ( La Mer ) , Roussel , Ravel et Chabrier- d' impressionnantes Variations sur un thème de HaydnAvec Berlin , de 57 à 81 :- la symphonie n° 9 de Dvorak , d'une rare intensité ( 57 ; bien plus intense que la version de 79 ! )- le Concerto pour clarinette avec le grand Karl Leister : un sommet lumineux et serein- toujours excellent chez Debussy ( La Mer ) , rendu avec tous ses infinis miroitements- les symphonies 4 , 5 et 6 de Tchaikovsky ( mais sans retrouver peut-être la tension et la vision épurée de 52 , 53 et 56 , avec le Philharmonia )- les symphonies 4 , 7 et 8 de Bruckner ( puissantes , construites , d'une inspiration élevée ; quel dommage qu'il n'ait pas enregistré avec le Philharmonia ...)- Une Vie de Héros , de R.Strauss : sommet d'intensité et de tension , orchestre galvanisé . Et l'on retrouve le travail sur les basses initié par Futwängler et poursuivi par Karajan , ce quatuor de contrebasses de Berlin qui procure cette assise , cette ampleur , cette puissance tellurique , avec le reste de l'orchestre évidemment ... Je ne vois rien de comparable , dans les autres grandes phalanges occidentales , pour Brahms , Wagner , Bruckner , Sibelius .- Les Saisons : très belle vision de l'oratorio de Haydn , où nous retrouvons une Gundula Janowitz rayonnante et d'une impeccable sûreté vocale . Karajan hausse la partition vers la grande musique symphonique , le grand classicisme , en ne privilégiant pas le côté rustique populaire et pittoresque descriptif . On pourra aussi aimer ce qu'ont proposé Marriner , Armin Jordan et Jacobs . Devant de tels chefs d'oeuvre , il y a place pour de multiples talents .- les symphonies 1 , 2 , 4 , 5 et 6 de Sibelius et six poèmes symphoniques : le son est d'une splendeur inégalée . L'orchestre semble ne plus former qu'un seul instrument sous la baguette de son Chef . Opulence , sérénité , beauté quasi apollinienne ...Sibelius , vu par Karajan , rejoint la grande lignée austro-allemande : Beethoven , Brahms , Bruckner et Mahler ( d'ailleurs absent de cet énorme coffret ...) . il n'est plus question des lacs et des cygnes , de la forêt mais d'une musique quasi pure et intemporelle .Ce qui n'exclut nullement les versions des années 50 avec le Philharmonia , plus abruptes , moins " aimables " pour l'auditeur car moins poncées .

Questa volta voglio iniziare dalla tecnica di incisione, dettaglio tecnico spesso non trascurabile per chi ama la musica riprodotta bene e su un buon impianto, ma che abitualmente per me viene dopo, molto dopo, la qualità artistica. E inizio dal lato tecnico perché proprio qui si gioca una differenza importante fra questa raccolta della Warner e il precedente cofanetto della EMI uscito in occasione del "compleanno virtuale dei 100 anni" di Karajan uscito appunto nel 2008. La Warner ha rimasterizzato ciascuna incisione EMI e, al contrario della maggioranza dei casi analoghi, in cui le differenze di suono con le prime masterizzazioni degli anni '80 sono davvero piccole e spesso insignificanti (se non peggiorative), in questo caso il risultato finale é notevole e "batte" i CD originali EMI di diverse "lunghezze", tanto che merita davvero "riacquistare" tutte queste incisioni che magari si hanno già in casa.Non solo ma in un paio di casi, di cui uno eclatante perché si tratta della nona di Beethoven incisa con la Philharmonia Orchestra di Londra, addirittura viene inclusa nel cofanetto una versione in stereofonia, che é davvero una bella sorpresa e contribuisce non poco a far rivalutare il primo ciclo beethoveniano di Karajan, a mio avviso niente affatto inferiore al suo più famoso ciclo del 1962/3 con i Berliner.Per quanto riguarda la qualità artistica di questo enorme lascito discografico e della sua importanza rispetto alle incisioni Deutsche Grammophon, per una volta non sono d'accordo con Aprosdoketon e non posso esimermi di dire la mia su questo bel cofanetto (anche perché l'ho acquistato..!!).La EMI per Karajan non fu mai una casa discografica di seconda scelta e ciascuna incisione fu pensata e meditata, non quindi una "semplice alternativa" alle incisioni DG.Infatti se é pur vero che Karajan diventò presto un azionista di riferimento della DG, non solo un interprete di punta, bisogna ricordare che Karajan doveva la carriera postbellica, e forse anche la vita, al fondatore della EMI, Il mitico produttore Walter Legge, che riuscì a far uscire Karajan dalla parte sovietica di Berlino in cui era tenuto quasi prigioniero. E di questo fatto Karajan fu grato a vita a Legge e alla EMI, che "ripagò" con numerosissime incisioni, anche di assoluto riferimento.Le collaborazioni di Karajan con i solisti, fra l'altro, sono senz'altro più azzeccate rispetto alle sue incisioni per la DG e rimangono incisioni di assoluto valore e riferimento, seppure in gran parte monofoniche.Inoltre solo per la EMI Karajan realizzò il ciclo integrale delle sinfonie di Schubert, ciclo di assoluto riferimento insieme a quelli di Abbado e di Muti.E anche il "quasi integrale ciclo delle sinfonie di Sibelius" per la EMI ha un valore artistico enorme e affatto secondario.Non solo ma forse la più bella ottava di Bruckner mai incisa da Karajan (e forse la più bella mai incisa in assoluto) é contenuta in questo box e da sola ne varrebbe l'acquisto.Insomma un grazie sentito ai tecnici della Warner che hanno restaurato il suono di un lascito artistico immenso e prezioso non un oncia meno di quello per la Deutsche Grammophon.E un grazie anche ad Amazon che mette in vendita ad un prezzo così basso questo mare magnum di CD e di musica eccelsa, ed eseguita in maniera eccelsa.Buon ascolto a tutte e tutti voi....

Let's clear up a few things at the start: these are not reissues of the DG recordings, which already have had a number of boxes (one per decades, really) released already: these are recordings made pre-DG when Karajan was signed with EMI. That means most of these recordings are quite old, ranging from the start of Karajan's recording career in 1947 through to the late 70s or very early 80s, after which he signed exclusively with DG. That also means these are quite dated recordings, quite a few in mono although the majority in stereo.Two things to consider in a monumental box like this one: the music and the recordings. Let's start with the recordings. EMI always had superb engineering, and it shows here. Yes, you can tell these are not as dynamic as some of the very late recordings Karajan did with DG, especially the earlier work, but these discs all sound much better than most people would expect. A lot of that is due to the skills of the EMI engineers of the day, but the remastering engineers, working from original sources, have done a superb job of bringing these recordings to life. They are dynamic, with nice soundstaging (except on the monos, obviously), and quite a quiet background on almost all the discs. The remastering engineers truly deserve credit here: I compared some of the remasters to my original LPs (and some CD reissues) and the difference is immediately noticeable, and advantageous. Really superbly done by the team who put this box together, and a great example of what can be done with aging recordings to bring them to life today!As for the music, well, it's Karajan (which implies a particular style and interpretation) but it's also early Karajan when he was forming his musical style. There's a lot of music here, spread over 101 discs, separated into genres by box. There's decent notes with each disc, and the covers are reproduced from the originals. There's several orchestras represented here, from BPO to VPO and the Philharmonia, all playing up to their reputation and delivering on Karajan's vision. In some ways, as a Karajan fan for many decades, it's enlightening to go back to some of these early recordings and compare them with his later works on DG to see how he evolved and how his vision changed, but there's no implication in that statement that anything here is less than stellar. Even the recordings of the war-horses sound interesting. There's Karajan's first Beethoven symphony cycle, which got overshadowed by his later three cycles, but listening to this early set shows his musical interpretations starting off right.There's a huge scope of music here, all of which is solid and should be in every collection. Despite the recording dates, these are not "historical" (read "poor quality") recordings in any way: these are discs that stand up well against any of today's releases. And the value! At 101 discs for the money, this is a no-brainer, and a great way to start building a classical library (if that's the situation) or expand one to include some seminal recordings by one of the great conductors the world has seen. After going through this box once, I've now been bouncing between this and the later DG reissues to listen to Karajan old versus new, and it's an interesting exercise. And it shows just how great these remastered recordings are. Hats off to Warner for going the extra step with these recordings. Truly a bargain, and a great set of music.

La Warner Classics riunisce in questo cofanetto un eccellente Karajan integrale. Direi che l'ottima organizzazione delle incisioni supera anche il concetto di registrazioni storiche e recenti. Piaccia o no, il Maestro è un interprete imprescindibile, a parer mio, nella storia della direzione. I cofanetti sono organizzati in modo davvero fruibile e pratico, un bel passo avanti rispetto alle edizioni EMI. Dal punto di vista dell'ascolto, e preciso che io sono un appassionato di vinile, la qualità è molto buona. La dinamica della nuova remasterizzazione è all'altezza delle promesse: i CD di generazione più recente si son fatti carico di varie debolezze che affliggevano i predecessori e ovviamente anche la tecnica è molto migliorata. Tutti i CD risultano molto ben definiti nell'immagine orchestrale e nel rapporto pianissimo / fortissimo. L'orchestra è posizionata in un'immagine corretta durante tutta la riproduzione. Alle registrazioni si rende dunque - finalmente - molto più merito. Karajan fu afflitto, sempre a parer mio, da forti penalizzazioni in fase di registrazione e incisione, cosa anche alquanto sconcertante poiché seguiva personalmente tali processi. Chiunque però lo abbia ascoltato anche dal vivo credo sarà d'accordo su questa mia considerazione. Torno ancora all'edizione Classic: fa giustizia ai solisti, o ogni strumento in fase prima (M Schwalbè, la Mutter, Weissemberg ad es. sarebbero entusiasti) e le voci si sentono anch'esse sempre in pienezza e purezza dinamica. Tutti i CD suonano bene sia con impianti HIFI in classe A che con dispositivi digitali di ingombro ridotto, senza problemi ambientali e con piacevolissima resa. Consigliabile sia per un primo, ma sistematico, approccio a Karajan che ai collezionisti e musicofili di ogni livello.

Wow! £202.. I purchased the set some time ago and paid considerably less. In fact, the current Amazon price better reflects the artistry/genius contained within this substantial box-set. The box contains some of Karajan's finest recordings which have been remastered by Warner - I prefer some of the earlier EMI remasters. However, let that not dissuade purchase; differences in remastered sound quality can be subjective and dependent on one's audio equipment, and after all it's the music which is paramount. No words can do justice to the music in this set... the box includes some of the finest recordings ever committed to disc, conducted by Herbert von Karajan at the peak of his powers Recordings from an age before political correctness, globalization, multi-culturalism and the "nanny state" emasculated and destroyed strong national and cultural identity. Karajan said something about the military and music needing a dictatorship. Karajan was right! Just take a listen to most of the new releases from certain conductors - you know, the new names and their Bruckner and Mahler recordings... weak and ineffective, not to mention incompetent. Where are today's Reiners, Szells, Furtwanglers, Klemperers..... and, yes, Karajans! We shall not see their like again - fact! Purchase this box and hear classical music played with a passion, energy, commitment and intelligence that is all too rare nowadays. They say the best things in life are free, but that's not always the case - this box will cost £202 and that's money well spent.