Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

The briefest of glances at the CD cover tell us exactly what this is about: Karajan's name is in bright orange and large type above a photograph of the maestro in action while the two featured composers, Johann Sebastian Bach and Arthur Honegger, are almost relegated to footnotes. Herbert Ritter von Karajan was arguably the greatest conductor of the second half of the 20th century and certainly the most famous so he has, no doubt, sufficient admirers to justify this new series of recordings taken from broadcasts on Italian radio. The two on this disc are of Bach's "Magnificat in D major (BWV 243)" and Honegger's "Symphony No. 3 Liturgique". The live recordings are from 1953 (Bach) and 1954 (Honegger) and catch Karajan on the way up, with his debut at Bayreuth having taken place in the winter of 1950-51 and his rejoining the Berlin Philharmoniker for the first time since the end of the war in 1953. This recording also marks Karajan's first recording of Bach's masterpiece as well as his first official performance of Honneger's symphony. In both concerts Karajan is ably supported by the Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma della RAI and the Cora di Roma della RAI on the Bach, which also features a stellar list of soloists: Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (soprano), Esther Orell (mezzo), Oralia Dominguez (alto), Nicolai Gedda (tenor), and Giorgio Tadeo (bass). Sadly there is no getting away from the fact that the recordings show their age. The ensemble works come through but the solo singing sounds as though there was just one microphone for both choir and soloists and they are barely audible. No doubt the boffins at Dynamic have done all they could to restore the sound but it is so variable that even at its budget price this can be recommended only to Karajan collectors.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

Interested in reviewing music? Find out more here.