Verdi: Requiem (2008)

performed by Boris Christoff (bass), Helge Rosvaenge (tenor), Hilde Zadek (soprano), Margarete Klose (mezzo-soprano), Wiener Singverein (choir, chorus), Wiener Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan (conductor)
composed by Giuseppe Verdi, Recorded Sound

Herbert von Karajan's 1949 Salzburg Festival recording of Verdi's Requiem is not the greatest recording of the work ever made; there are, after all, recordings by Toscanini, Giulini, Abbado, and Serafin in that competition. And it's not the greatest recording of the Requiem ever made by Karajan; there are also his two studio recordings of the work from 1972 and 1984 for Deutsche Grammophon. But for those listeners who love the conductor's way with the work, this live recording will likely prove irresistible. When this ... Read More

Herbert von Karajan's 1949 Salzburg Festival recording of Verdi's Requiem is not the greatest recording of the work ever made; there are, after all, recordings by Toscanini, Giulini, Abbado, and Serafin in that competition. And it's not the greatest recording of the Requiem ever made by Karajan; there are also his two studio recordings of the work from 1972 and 1984 for Deutsche Grammophon. But for those listeners who love the conductor's way with the work, this live recording will likely prove irresistible. When this performance was taped, the 41-year-old Karajan was still smarting after Germany's defeat in the Second World War and his own protracted denazification proceedings, and his anger, pain, and despair are audible. Also, and perhaps more importantly for those who revere the Austrian conductor, his performance shows him to once have been both an impetuous and, some might say, reckless interpreter. The opening Requiem is remarkably hesitant, the following Dies irae is amazingly impulsive, and... Read Less