I met von Karajan briefly on stage in the IU Auditorium, Bloomington, Indiana. With coat over shoulders as a cape, he clapped his hands to check acoustics. I asked to "copy Furtwangler's bowings." Granted. As to famous batons: Mischa Mischakoff, Toscanini's CM, accepted my invitation to join Scandinavian Sym Orch of Detroit shortly after retiring from the Detroit Orch. After Sibelius' #2 and final concert as a team, he presented a baton used by the Maestro to William Savola. See Google
Gian-Battista Martinetti was born in the city of Padova in the north of Italy. His family moved to Mantova when he was young. At first a skilled Luthier, Martinetti passed on his skills to his two sons Giorgio and Andrea. The latter began making exquisite batons, and it is he who supplied many of the finest conductors of his day with batons. Although conducting with batons came into fashion only in the late 20ies (formerly bare hands were employed) his batons were much appreciated. Deceased 1972
@andreaprodan So it was Andrea Martinetti who made Karajan's batons? Or his father? Do you knowabout the exact specifications of the batons: the length, wood, handle size, weight, etc. or do you have some close up photos? Also, what other conductors used Martinetti's batons? Finally, are any of the batons still out there today for purchase or collection? Any websites, books, and resources would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again!
You are quite right, Karajan was a musical genius. As for Wagner, regardless of how his music was revered by the Nazi's after his death; there was no such thing as a 'Nazi' during Wagner's lifetime.
He was arrogant and he was in fact a real nazi ! He was a traitor and it was realy Wilhelm Furtwaengler, who was the great artist.
They were both great artists. Furtwängler wasn't such a lovely fellow, either. Toscanini wouldn't speak to him because he remained in Germany during the Nazi era. He may have protected Jews in the orchestra but so did Winifred Wagner, and she was one of the most devoted Nazis there ever was. Karajan was never in that category, and was married to a Jew at the time.
The Nazi thing is NOT important. What is SO OFTEN overlooked is the quality of the BATONS herr Von Karajan used. I think especially of the Martinetti and Valsecchi batons. Such a far cry from todays cheap, flimsy Nakamura batons.
Mr. Zhang, my uncle, Wilhelm Rotscheiller, the conductor, told me Karajan preferred Martinetti batons to others because they made a LOUD 'snap' sound when broken in two. He used to get very frustrated with the orchestra... and on some occasions (on a bad day) would break more than one baton.
Martinetti didn't approve, but said nothing as he bought so many. Believe me they were VERY expensive!
@andreaprodan Thanks for the info. What is Martinetti's full name? Was he a conductor, company owner, private maker etc.? Are there any Martinetti batons still around today? Also, do you have specifications on the batons? Do you know the length, wood, handle size, weight, etc.? Or do you have a picture? Thanks again for the information, it will help me a lot!
In fact, I know from my father, who played in Berlin from 1934 to 1948 of and on with Karajan, that he was not very liked by the musicien . I still have a letter, send to Karajan us a joke. He would have fitts, break the sticks out of anger and had a watch beside him, to time the musik. He was arrogant and he was in fact a real nazi ! He was a traitor and it was realy Wilhelm Furtwaengler, who was the great artist.
@Sinneo91 In fact my dad , a soloist ( a jew with a german name ) played with W. Furtwaengler all the time, and W.furtwaengler was not in the nazi-party. He protected the jews in his orchester. But there tryed to dirty W. Furtwaengler. Watch the film on W. Furtwaengler
@khordad39: You should study some music before making your judgment. If Karajan destroyed the sound of BPO why have they been the top-selling orchestra in the world? In fact Karajan accounted for 1/3 of the sales of the Deutsche Grammophone, and the Sony Classical. Is that the way to destroy an orchestra?
This is the documentary shown on American PBS shortly after Karajan died in 1989. I believe it's the same documentary released on the DVD "Karajan: A Portrait" (but I'm not positive).
Si los nazis eran como von Karajan, en vez de pelearlos tendrían que haberlos contratado. ¿Cuándo aprenderán a distinguir la música de la política, sordos...?
I do not deny that he was a great musician, but I never forgive him for being a Nazi. He was sitting in his comfortable sofa developing his brilliant musical genius not having to think, however, if he would survive the next day or so, while others like Franz Schreker, Hanns Eisler, Viktor Ullmann, Ervin Schulhof were awfully treated by the enthusiasts of the so-called Entartete Kunst (De-generate Art, pure nazi rasicm), the two later ones actuly died in Auschwitz.
karajan was primarily still a musician. i believe many of his "political associations" and "political leanings" were a result of certain things he did for convenience + lots of external political propaganda. i believe he himself didn't give a shit about anything in particular.
Karajan was indeed a member of the party. But to quote Germany's ex chancellor Helmut Schmidt", Karajan was not a nazi as far as ideologies are concerned. Christa Ludwig has also commented that she would consider him an "oportunist" but defitely not Nazi. Joining the party was mearly a means for him to get to be the director of the world's greatest orchestra. The man knew where he wanted to go and he got there. Some walk over bodies to get where they want. Karajan just joined a political party.
Accusing Karajan of beeing a Nazi is not fair. Okay... he was a member of the party, but more than everything else, he was a musician. He was young, and he wanted to work with orchestras in Germany like the Berlin philharmonics. I think no one today is really in a position to question the intentions of someone who lived in those times. And to judge them is simply not fair...
@Wolveram Karajan was a Nazi - member of the Nazi party - as was his mentor Furtwangler! Classical music has always been sponsored by the ruling classes - starting back from Bach, Mozart - as seen by the hundreds of millions of Euros contributed by them to Opera houses and symphony orchestras
@hommefriday Who cares if the ruling classes have often sponsored classical music? It is a truly amazing musical tradition and it deserves to be supported. The wealthy happen to have money to splash around, better they throw it at musicians I say. ;)
A genius,the greatest conductor of all time. Yes, I prefer Boehm's Mozart or Kleiber's Brahms 4th. But all in all, he was beyond comparison. What many people misinterpret as "coldness" is in fact respect for the composer: the perfection of his performances and the lack of any personal imposed sentimentality on the work, guarantees the best possible way to hear the work.
there is a phrase in this vid: for Karajan there wasn't conflict between music and businnes, music and technology...
well I want just say there was not conflict between music and life. And I think he was the greatest of a great generation of legends, generation of heroes of music, heroes of life, in the human faults and in the uncomparable greatness.
The first test CD ever pressed was by Polydor in 1981. The disc contained a recording of Richard Strauss' Eine Alpensinfonie, played by the Berlin Philharmonic and conducted by Herbert von Karajan. Karajan was very much involved in the developing of the compact disc. I think the next CD that was ever available was Karajan'n Zauberfloete. Only after a couple of months were any other CDs released. This meant during that period Karajan's name was synonomous with digitilized recording.
Yes, it's definitely worth hearing Bruckner's Bruckner even if you don't like his other recordings. There's a 'live' performance of Bruckner 5 with the Vienna Philharmonic in a 4CD set on the 'Andante' label which rivals Karajan's amazing DG recording of the piece (not to be mixed up with his early VSO Orfeo recording of Bruckner 5 which is NOT very good).
I'd say it's quite possible that someone could admire Karajan's Bruckner even if they don't like anything else he did.
... sorry, typing mistake: 'Karajan's Bruckner' is what I meant to type, not 'Bruckner's Bruckner'. Though come to think of it, maybe Karajan's Bruckner would have been 'Bruckner's Bruckner' if Bruckner had lived long enough to hear it ...
soichi, thx for this vid; while of gen interest it has also brief gems of high interest (2 me anyway). It wld not be amiss to upload the ENTIRE program, if avail and yr time permits. Bravo for yr idealsm herein & generly. I will be chkg in w/ur pages. Thx agin.
This is obviously a docementary with cuts made by someone else; makes it somewhat tasteless to me. But there is enough stock footage to make it enjoyable.
I met von Karajan briefly on stage in the IU Auditorium, Bloomington, Indiana. With coat over shoulders as a cape, he clapped his hands to check acoustics. I asked to "copy Furtwangler's bowings." Granted. As to famous batons: Mischa Mischakoff, Toscanini's CM, accepted my invitation to join Scandinavian Sym Orch of Detroit shortly after retiring from the Detroit Orch. After Sibelius' #2 and final concert as a team, he presented a baton used by the Maestro to William Savola. See Google
Toscanini3024 3 months ago
Comment removed
wwjd19jeff91ynwa 7 months ago
Gian-Battista Martinetti was born in the city of Padova in the north of Italy. His family moved to Mantova when he was young. At first a skilled Luthier, Martinetti passed on his skills to his two sons Giorgio and Andrea. The latter began making exquisite batons, and it is he who supplied many of the finest conductors of his day with batons. Although conducting with batons came into fashion only in the late 20ies (formerly bare hands were employed) his batons were much appreciated. Deceased 1972
andreaprodan 1 year ago
@andreaprodan So it was Andrea Martinetti who made Karajan's batons? Or his father? Do you knowabout the exact specifications of the batons: the length, wood, handle size, weight, etc. or do you have some close up photos? Also, what other conductors used Martinetti's batons? Finally, are any of the batons still out there today for purchase or collection? Any websites, books, and resources would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again!
robertzhang123 1 year ago
I love Karajan and Wagner, I don't give a dawn they were Nazis - I love their art!! don't be idiot!!
AL73TJ 1 year ago
@AL73TJ
You are quite right, Karajan was a musical genius. As for Wagner, regardless of how his music was revered by the Nazi's after his death; there was no such thing as a 'Nazi' during Wagner's lifetime.
MiscellaneousBytes 1 year ago
He was arrogant and he was in fact a real nazi ! He was a traitor and it was realy Wilhelm Furtwaengler, who was the great artist.
They were both great artists. Furtwängler wasn't such a lovely fellow, either. Toscanini wouldn't speak to him because he remained in Germany during the Nazi era. He may have protected Jews in the orchestra but so did Winifred Wagner, and she was one of the most devoted Nazis there ever was. Karajan was never in that category, and was married to a Jew at the time.
Varese13 1 year ago
What is the piece he is conducting at the beginning?
sirmattbelios 1 year ago
@sirmattbelios
"Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche" by Richard Strauss
nickteua 1 year ago
The Nazi thing is NOT important. What is SO OFTEN overlooked is the quality of the BATONS herr Von Karajan used. I think especially of the Martinetti and Valsecchi batons. Such a far cry from todays cheap, flimsy Nakamura batons.
His SOUND is largely due to the Martinettis.
andreaprodan 1 year ago
@andreaprodan Hi, can you message me? I'm researching Karajan and I would love to get some more information about these Matrinetti batons.
robertzhang123 1 year ago
@robertzhang123
Mr. Zhang, my uncle, Wilhelm Rotscheiller, the conductor, told me Karajan preferred Martinetti batons to others because they made a LOUD 'snap' sound when broken in two. He used to get very frustrated with the orchestra... and on some occasions (on a bad day) would break more than one baton.
Martinetti didn't approve, but said nothing as he bought so many. Believe me they were VERY expensive!
andreaprodan 1 year ago
@andreaprodan Thanks for the info. What is Martinetti's full name? Was he a conductor, company owner, private maker etc.? Are there any Martinetti batons still around today? Also, do you have specifications on the batons? Do you know the length, wood, handle size, weight, etc.? Or do you have a picture? Thanks again for the information, it will help me a lot!
robertzhang123 1 year ago
In fact, I know from my father, who played in Berlin from 1934 to 1948 of and on with Karajan, that he was not very liked by the musicien . I still have a letter, send to Karajan us a joke. He would have fitts, break the sticks out of anger and had a watch beside him, to time the musik. He was arrogant and he was in fact a real nazi ! He was a traitor and it was realy Wilhelm Furtwaengler, who was the great artist.
henkerfastwalker 1 year ago
@henkerfastwalker Furtwängler was also in the Nazi Party...
Sinneo91 1 year ago
@Sinneo91 In fact my dad , a soloist ( a jew with a german name ) played with W. Furtwaengler all the time, and W.furtwaengler was not in the nazi-party. He protected the jews in his orchester. But there tryed to dirty W. Furtwaengler. Watch the film on W. Furtwaengler
henkerfastwalker 1 year ago
Karajan and BPO, 1979 in Beijing, PRC... unforgettable...
hklifeguard 1 year ago
Thx Soichi
This's my first time of seeing the vid of Karajan came China
I'm a Chinese
xf870329 2 years ago
This great man had origins in today's Macedonia from the town of Gevgeli/Gevgelija
asparpsy 2 years ago
Wonder who the student conductor was. Did he ever make it?
1401JSC 2 years ago
I would say Karajan is a bit old hear rather than young?! Only joking.
baileydaled 2 years ago
@khordad39: You should study some music before making your judgment. If Karajan destroyed the sound of BPO why have they been the top-selling orchestra in the world? In fact Karajan accounted for 1/3 of the sales of the Deutsche Grammophone, and the Sony Classical. Is that the way to destroy an orchestra?
dennisvillegas 2 years ago 4
If there are gods of conductors there are only a few: Furtwangler, Walter, Toscanini, Klemperer, and Karajan.
The others are just plain simple conductors...
dennisvillegas 2 years ago
what about Kleiber? He is everything else but simple. Take a look at his New Years Concert - breathtaking!
coesterr 2 years ago 4
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big mistake to mix toscanini with furtwängler or walter... toscanini, solti etc belong to the school which is called the brutal art of conducting...
and karjan was cheating a lot at the studios and destroyed the sound of BPO...
for me furtwängler, walter and fricsay belong to the greatests, followed by kempe, klemperer, kleibers (jr and sr)...
khordad39 2 years ago
Kleiber? Listen Brahms' fourth symphony directed by Kleiber, then let's talk about it again
BlaisePascalDisciple 2 years ago
...this is the time on Sprockets that we dance!
webebohm 2 years ago
Wow.. this is truly fascinating. I had no idea he was such a pivotal figure in terms of "democratizing" music.
ahhreeyell 3 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
The tool of the Nazis.
DMS412 3 years ago
bullshits.. wasn't his fault if he was born a that time.. An artist is just an artist..
panosJ3 2 years ago 3
Cool hair do Herbie!!!
yocreo 3 years ago
Is this an excerpt from a documentary about Karajan? If so, what is it called? If not, where is this clip from?
robertzhang123 3 years ago
This is the documentary shown on American PBS shortly after Karajan died in 1989. I believe it's the same documentary released on the DVD "Karajan: A Portrait" (but I'm not positive).
joeyvjoeyv 3 years ago
OMG get over it! We don't watch videos of him and listen to his music because he was a nazi! we do it because of his superb ability.
slvrstarburst 3 years ago 5
Si los nazis eran como von Karajan, en vez de pelearlos tendrían que haberlos contratado. ¿Cuándo aprenderán a distinguir la música de la política, sordos...?
lmsviking 3 years ago 4
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I do not deny that he was a great musician, but I never forgive him for being a Nazi. He was sitting in his comfortable sofa developing his brilliant musical genius not having to think, however, if he would survive the next day or so, while others like Franz Schreker, Hanns Eisler, Viktor Ullmann, Ervin Schulhof were awfully treated by the enthusiasts of the so-called Entartete Kunst (De-generate Art, pure nazi rasicm), the two later ones actuly died in Auschwitz.
freddydiamant 3 years ago
Ever knew he often conducted at gunpoint? Karajan a Nazi? Geez where did you get that, in the back of a cereal box?
DerMeister2007 3 years ago
For your information he was a member of the Nazi Party from 1933
freddydiamant 3 years ago
And? does that mean he believed completely in the ideology? Don't jump to conclusions. Remember he married a jewish woman.
DerMeister2007 3 years ago 17
@DerMeister2007 Bullshit! He married a jewish woman after destruction Nazis so he's a nazi!
wincodetalker 1 year ago
@wincodetalker Whatever, you're just trolling.
DerMeister2007 1 year ago
karajan was primarily still a musician. i believe many of his "political associations" and "political leanings" were a result of certain things he did for convenience + lots of external political propaganda. i believe he himself didn't give a shit about anything in particular.
duhhh86 3 years ago 4
Karajan was indeed a member of the party. But to quote Germany's ex chancellor Helmut Schmidt", Karajan was not a nazi as far as ideologies are concerned. Christa Ludwig has also commented that she would consider him an "oportunist" but defitely not Nazi. Joining the party was mearly a means for him to get to be the director of the world's greatest orchestra. The man knew where he wanted to go and he got there. Some walk over bodies to get where they want. Karajan just joined a political party.
iskenderuna 2 years ago
Accusing Karajan of beeing a Nazi is not fair. Okay... he was a member of the party, but more than everything else, he was a musician. He was young, and he wanted to work with orchestras in Germany like the Berlin philharmonics. I think no one today is really in a position to question the intentions of someone who lived in those times. And to judge them is simply not fair...
Wolveram 3 years ago 28
@Wolveram Karajan was a Nazi - member of the Nazi party - as was his mentor Furtwangler! Classical music has always been sponsored by the ruling classes - starting back from Bach, Mozart - as seen by the hundreds of millions of Euros contributed by them to Opera houses and symphony orchestras
hommefriday 1 year ago
@hommefriday shut up fucking son of a bitch!!! you're just talking bullshit!!!!
anoxfordman 1 year ago 4
Comment removed
hearts0ngs 1 year ago
@hommefriday Who cares if the ruling classes have often sponsored classical music? It is a truly amazing musical tradition and it deserves to be supported. The wealthy happen to have money to splash around, better they throw it at musicians I say. ;)
hearts0ngs 1 year ago
@Wolveram Toscanini refused to play the fascist anthem Giovinezza for Mussolini, and had to leave Italy for the US. That showed character.
padredemishijos12 1 year ago
@Wolveram but it is very fair to say Karajan was very egoistic.
uhartchristian 5 months ago
Matey 3 Karajan was afriend of many great Jewish aretists like Menhuin,Baremboin and many others he would be ashamed of your anti-semetic Nazi shit.
JohnAGood 4 years ago
He also had a jewish chauffeur ... (AFTER the war, that is)
Leibo07 3 years ago 2
A genius,the greatest conductor of all time. Yes, I prefer Boehm's Mozart or Kleiber's Brahms 4th. But all in all, he was beyond comparison. What many people misinterpret as "coldness" is in fact respect for the composer: the perfection of his performances and the lack of any personal imposed sentimentality on the work, guarantees the best possible way to hear the work.
majortom51970 4 years ago 7
ME 2
id217366 4 years ago
I was refering to 3:20
look at holeywood and its products in recent years, enough to make one vomit!
Matey3 4 years ago
This has been flagged as spam show
He is the greatest conductor of our times.
the zionist bastards can go eat shi*. I dont like anyone bad mouthing the man!
and what the hell did the zionist do for us? 2 world wars and over 90 millions dead!
Matey3 4 years ago
Well, take it easy. During 30's he was married to a jewish woman. There are hints that the Karajan family were of (Greek/)jewish descent.
Nevertheless all this did not prevent him from membership of the Nazi party, TWICE (Austrian and German).
BTW. In Third Reich there were and remained jews in high places.
Leibo07 3 years ago 6
there is a phrase in this vid: for Karajan there wasn't conflict between music and businnes, music and technology...
well I want just say there was not conflict between music and life. And I think he was the greatest of a great generation of legends, generation of heroes of music, heroes of life, in the human faults and in the uncomparable greatness.
foerster 4 years ago 4
The first test CD ever pressed was by Polydor in 1981. The disc contained a recording of Richard Strauss' Eine Alpensinfonie, played by the Berlin Philharmonic and conducted by Herbert von Karajan. Karajan was very much involved in the developing of the compact disc. I think the next CD that was ever available was Karajan'n Zauberfloete. Only after a couple of months were any other CDs released. This meant during that period Karajan's name was synonomous with digitilized recording.
iskenderuna 2 years ago
Que es lo que dice en el 6:32 No le hago al aleman!!
alexguitar87 4 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
never liked karajan still dont
scottbos68 4 years ago
you obviously haven't heard his Bruckner
MahlerTitan 4 years ago
Yes, it's definitely worth hearing Bruckner's Bruckner even if you don't like his other recordings. There's a 'live' performance of Bruckner 5 with the Vienna Philharmonic in a 4CD set on the 'Andante' label which rivals Karajan's amazing DG recording of the piece (not to be mixed up with his early VSO Orfeo recording of Bruckner 5 which is NOT very good).
I'd say it's quite possible that someone could admire Karajan's Bruckner even if they don't like anything else he did.
BrucknerEnthusiast 4 years ago
... sorry, typing mistake: 'Karajan's Bruckner' is what I meant to type, not 'Bruckner's Bruckner'. Though come to think of it, maybe Karajan's Bruckner would have been 'Bruckner's Bruckner' if Bruckner had lived long enough to hear it ...
BrucknerEnthusiast 4 years ago
Sorry I don`t know.
Because I borrrowed this video from my friend.
soichi1228 4 years ago
soichi, thx for this vid; while of gen interest it has also brief gems of high interest (2 me anyway). It wld not be amiss to upload the ENTIRE program, if avail and yr time permits. Bravo for yr idealsm herein & generly. I will be chkg in w/ur pages. Thx agin.
culturehorse 4 years ago
this is very interesting!
foerster 4 years ago
I agree with gregnotias...
viviananderson 4 years ago
This is obviously a docementary with cuts made by someone else; makes it somewhat tasteless to me. But there is enough stock footage to make it enjoyable.
gregnotias 4 years ago
you can get it on classical videorarities
deflactor 4 years ago
Is it Orson Welles's voice at the beginning of the video? By the way, is this video part of any documentary or something? Where did you get it?
felipetavares79 4 years ago