This Week in Classical Music: April 5, 2021.Karajan, Part I.Today is the birthday of Herbert von Karajan, one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century.He was born in 1908, in Salzburg.Karajan is a Germanized version of the Greek name Karajannis; Herbert’s great-great-grandfather was born in what’s now Greece (back then the territory was an Ottoman possession) and moved to Vienna in 1767.Karajan’s story presents a problem similar to the one posed by the life of the recently deceased James Levine: how are we to judge – or accept – a tremendous musical talent embodied in a flawed personality.In the case of Levine, it was very credible accusations of sexual abuse of young men.With Karajan it was his membership in the Nazi Party.It appears that Karajan joined the Party twice, first, in April of 1933 while in Salzburg, and then two years later when he was living in Aahen.April 1933 was just months after Nazis came to power in Germany – joining the Nazi Party then was early and damning.Moreover, it has been said that during the Nazi period he always opened his concerts with the "Horst-Wessel-Lied," Nazi’s unofficial anthem.We should contrast this with Wilhelm Furtwängler, the leading conductor of the time.Here’s from Wikipedia: “Furtwängler never joined the Nazi Party.He refused to give the Nazi salute, to conduct the Horst-Wessel-Lied, or to sign his letters with "Heil Hitler", even those he wrote to Hitler.”He also refused to participate in many propaganda activities.Moreover, Furtwängler had helped many of his Jewish musicians to escape prosecution.Nevertheless, because Furtwängler stayed in Germany during the Nazi years, he had to endure a lengthy de-Nazification trial and years later had to suffer the humiliation of a rescinded offer from the Chicago Symphony, when Toscanini, Szell, Horowitz and several other prominent musicians threatened the orchestra with a boycott if Chicago were to hire him.Karajan’s fate was very different: he was examined by the de-Nazification board and immediately cleared of any illegal activities, resuming his international career shortly thereafter.On the other hand, it should be mentioned that in 1942 Karajan married a quarter-Jewish Anita Gütermann, after which he was stripped of many positions (he did keep the directorship at the Staatskapelle, though).The Salzburg Wiki says that after the war Karajan and Gütermann fled to Italy, as he was temporarily banned from performing in Germany and Austria.Karajan pleaded with his father-in-law to help him in his de-Nazification process, which Gütermann apparently did.Karajan’s gratitude didn’t last long, as in the early 1950s he met the young French model Eliette Mouret and divorced Anita.
Be it as it may, Karajan was a tremendously talented and hardworking conductor.He spent his formative years, 1929 to 1934, as the assistant Kapellmeister at Ulm’s Städtisches Theater.He then moved to Aachen as the youngest ever Generalmusikdirektor.In 1938 he made his debut with the Berlin Philharmonic, and in 1941 he was appointed music director of the Staatskapelle Berlin, where Daniel Barenboim currently occupies the same position.In 1946 he met Walter Legge who had just a year earlier formed the Philharmonia Orchestra in London.Karajan worked with the Philharmonia Orchestra from 1946 till 1960, making a number of notable recordings.
In 1946 Karajan was 38 and had another 43 years to live and conduct, which he would till the very end.We’ll continue with him next week.
Karajan Part I, 2021
This Week in Classical Music: April 5, 2021. Karajan, Part I. Today is the birthday of Herbert von Karajan, one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century. He was born in 1908, in
Salzburg. Karajan is a Germanized version of the Greek name Karajannis; Herbert’s great-great-grandfather was born in what’s now Greece (back then the territory was an Ottoman possession) and moved to Vienna in 1767. Karajan’s story presents a problem similar to the one posed by the life of the recently deceased James Levine: how are we to judge – or accept – a tremendous musical talent embodied in a flawed personality. In the case of Levine, it was very credible accusations of sexual abuse of young men. With Karajan it was his membership in the Nazi Party. It appears that Karajan joined the Party twice, first, in April of 1933 while in Salzburg, and then two years later when he was living in Aahen. April 1933 was just months after Nazis came to power in Germany – joining the Nazi Party then was early and damning. Moreover, it has been said that during the Nazi period he always opened his concerts with the "Horst-Wessel-Lied," Nazi’s unofficial anthem. We should contrast this with Wilhelm Furtwängler, the leading conductor of the time. Here’s from Wikipedia: “Furtwängler never joined the Nazi Party. He refused to give the Nazi salute, to conduct the Horst-Wessel-Lied, or to sign his letters with "Heil Hitler", even those he wrote to Hitler.” He also refused to participate in many propaganda activities. Moreover, Furtwängler had helped many of his Jewish musicians to escape prosecution. Nevertheless, because Furtwängler stayed in Germany during the Nazi years, he had to endure a lengthy de-Nazification trial and years later had to suffer the humiliation of a rescinded offer from the Chicago Symphony, when Toscanini, Szell, Horowitz and several other prominent musicians threatened the orchestra with a boycott if Chicago were to hire him. Karajan’s fate was very different: he was examined by the de-Nazification board and immediately cleared of any illegal activities, resuming his international career shortly thereafter. On the other hand, it should be mentioned that in 1942 Karajan married a quarter-Jewish Anita Gütermann, after which he was stripped of many positions (he did keep the directorship at the Staatskapelle, though). The Salzburg Wiki says that after the war Karajan and Gütermann fled to Italy, as he was temporarily banned from performing in Germany and Austria. Karajan pleaded with his father-in-law to help him in his de-Nazification process, which Gütermann apparently did. Karajan’s gratitude didn’t last long, as in the early 1950s he met the young French model Eliette Mouret and divorced Anita.
Be it as it may, Karajan was a tremendously talented and hardworking conductor. He spent his formative years, 1929 to 1934, as the assistant Kapellmeister at Ulm’s Städtisches Theater. He then moved to Aachen as the youngest ever Generalmusikdirektor. In 1938 he made his debut with the Berlin Philharmonic, and in 1941 he was appointed music director of the Staatskapelle Berlin, where Daniel Barenboim currently occupies the same position. In 1946 he met Walter Legge who had just a year earlier formed the Philharmonia Orchestra in London. Karajan worked with the Philharmonia Orchestra from 1946 till 1960, making a number of notable recordings.
In 1946 Karajan was 38 and had another 43 years to live and conduct, which he would till the very end. We’ll continue with him next week.