The Karajan Official Remastered Edition comprises 13 box sets containing official remasterings of the finest recordings the Austrian conductor made for EMI between 1946 and 1984, and which are now a jewel of the Warner Classics catalogue.

For many, Herbert von Karajan (1908-1989) – hailed early in his career as ‘Das Wunder Karajan’ (The Karajan Miracle) and known in the early 1960s as ‘the music director of Europe’ – remains the ultimate embodiment of the maestro. The release of the Karajan Official Remastered Edition over the first half of 2014 marks the 25th anniversary of the conductor’s death in July 1989 at the age of 81.

Karajan was closely associated with EMI for the majority of his recording career (specifically from 1946 to 1960 and then again from 1969 to 1984). EMI’s legendary producer Walter Legge sought him out in Vienna just after World War II and the long relationship that ensued embraced recordings with the Vienna Philharmonic, the Philharmonia (the orchestra founded by Legge), the Berlin Philharmonic (of which Karajan became ‘conductor for life’ in 1955), the forces of La Scala, Milan, and the Orchestre de Paris.

The Karajan Official Remastered Edition features primarily symphonic and choral music. The entire edition will comprise recordings remastered from the original sources in 24-bit/96kHz at Abbey Road Studios, the world’s most renowned recording studio.

Contents:
CD 1  
Mily Alexeyevich Balakirev
- Symphony No.1 in C
Recorded: 1949, Kingsway Hall, London
MONO/ADD

Alexander Borodin
Prince Igor
- Dance of the Polovtsian Maidens
- Polovtsian Dances
Recorded: 1954, Kingsway Hall, London
MONO/ADD

Modest Mussorgsky
Khovanshchina
- Act 4 Entr’acte
- Dance of the Persian Slaves
Recorded: 1954, Kingsway Hall, London
MONO/ADD

Boris Godunov
- In the Town of Kazan (Varlaam’s Drinking Song)
Boris Christoff (bass) 
Recorded: 1949, Kingsway Hall, London
MONO/ADD

CD 2  
Modest Mussorgsky (orch. Maurice Ravel)
- Pictures from an Exhibition
Recorded: 1955/1956, Kingsway Hall, London
STEREO/ADD

Khovanshchina
- Act 4 Entr’acte
Recorded: 1959, Kingsway Hall, London
STEREO/ADD

Sergei Prokofiev
- Peter and the Wolf, Op.40
Sir Peter Ustinov (narrator)
Recorded: 1956/1957, Kingsway Hall, London [Ustinov narration recorded Capitol Studios, Hollywood, 1957]
STEREO/ADD

CD 3  
Peter Il’yich Tchaikovsky
- Symphony No.4 in F minor, Op.36
Recorded: 1953, Kingsway Hall, London
MONO/ADD

Suite from Swan Lake, Op.20
- Scène         
- Valse (Act I)        
- Danse des petits cygnes (Act II)      
- Introduction & Danse de la reine des cygnes (Act III)    
- Danse hongroise (Csárdás) (Act III)      
Recorded: 1952, Kingsway Hall, London
MONO/ADD

CD 4  
Pyotr Il’yichTchaikovsky
- Symphony No.5 in E minor, Op.64
Recorded: 1952/1953, Kingsway Hall, London
MONO/ADD

Suite from The Sleeping Beauty, Op.66
- Introduction & fée des lilas (Prologue)      
- Pas d’action: Adagio (Act I)       
- Pas de caractere: Le chat botté (Act III)     
- Panorama (Act II)        
- Valse (Act I)
Recorded: 24.XI. & 1.XII.1952, Kingsway Hall, London
MONO/ADD

CD 5  
Pyotr Il’yichTchaikovsky
- Symphony No.6 in B minor, Op.74 “Pathétique”
Recorded: 1955/1956, Kingsway Hall, London
MONO/ADD

- The Nutcracker: Suite Op.71a
Recorded: 1952, Kingsway Hall, London
MONO/ADD

CD 6  
Alexander Borodin
Prince Igor
- Dance of the Polovtsian Maidens
- Polovtsian Dances
Recorded: 1960, Kingsway Hall, London
STEREO/ADD

Pyotr Il’yichTchaikovsky
Suite from Swan Lake, Op. 20
- Scène  
- Valse (Act I)   
- Danse des petits cygnes (Act II) 
- Introduction & Danse de la reine des cygnes (Act III) 
- Danse hongroise (Csárdás) (Act III)    

Suite from The Sleeping Beauty, Op.66
- Introduction & fée des lilas (Prologue)      
- Pas d’action: Adagio (Act I)       
- Pas de caractere: Le chat botté (Act III)     
- Panorama (Act II)        
- Valse (Act I)
Recorded: 1959, Kingsway Hall, London
STEREO/ADD

Pyotr Il’yichTchaikovsky
- 1812 Overture, Op.49
Recorded: 1958, Kingsway Hall, London
STEREO/ADD

CD 7  
Igor Stravinsky
- Jeu de cartes
Recorded: 1952, Kingsway Hall, London
MONO/ADD

Modest Mussorgsky
Khovanschina
- Dance of the Persian Slaves
Recorded: 1960, Kingsway Hall, London
STEREO/ADD

Peter Il’yich Tchaikovsky
- Symphony No.4 in F minor, Op.36
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Recorded: 1960, Grünewaldkirche, Berlin
STEREO/ADD