The Karajan Dossier

Herbert von Karajan, the conductor, died in 1989 at the age of 81. His career was one of the most controversial in the history of classical music; he was dogged by his early collaboration with the Nazis (he was invited to conduct the Berlin State Opera in 1937 at the expense of the politically "obstinate" Furtwangler), and admired and vilified alike for his own autocratic style. This is an intimate scrap-book portrait of the man and, by association, an account of the internal workings of the world's most successful orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic. Klaus Lang is author of "My Dear Mr. Celibidache" to which this book is, in many ways, a sequel. It tells the continuing story of the Berlin Philharmonic, its constitution, its auditioning processes, scandals, personalities, travels and gossips. Lang has again made use of first-hand documentation - contemporary reviews, speeches - and interviews with prime witnesses - amongst others, Wolfgang Stressemann, Karl Bohm, and Michel Schwalbe, leader of the orchestra, as well as extensive interviews with von Karajan himself.
The book offers insights into the mind of von Karajan; his views on the acoustic and therapeutic nature of music, on football, on the recording and popularization of classical music, his attitude to the press and photography, his love of flying and fast cars, his vanity and his obduracy.