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.

Karajan had an extraordinary capacity for elevating his soloists on a ‘magic carpet’ of orchestral sound. In these recordings made with the Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic and Orchestra de Paris, he collaborates with a dazzling array of soloists: Sviatoslav Richter, David Oistrakh, Mstislav Rostropovich – a trio of unassailable distinction in Beethoven’s Triple Concerto; Anne-Sophie Mutter in Vivaldi’s Four Seasons; Alexis Weissenberg in Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov; Rostropovich in Strauss’ Don Quixote; Gidon Kremer in Brahms; Maurice André in Baroque and Classical concertos, and James Galway (and other principal players of the Berlin Philharmonic) in Mozart.

Contents:
CD 1
Antonio Vivaldi
The Four Seasons (from Il cimento dell’armonia e dell’inventione)
- Concerto No.1 in E, “La Primavera”, RV269
- Concerto No.2 in G minor, “L’Estate”, RV315
- Concerto No.3 in F, “L’Autunno”, RV293
- Concerto No.4 in F minor, “L’Inverno”, RV297
Anne-Sophie Mutter (violin)
Wiener Philharmoniker
Recorded: 1984, Zeremonialsaal, Hofburg, Vienna
STEREO/DDD

Jules Massenet
- Thais: Meditation
Anne-Sophie Mutter (violin)
Berliner Philharmoniker
Recorded: 1980 or 1981, Philharmonie, Berlin
STEREO/DDD

CD 2
Ludwig van Beethoven
- Piano Concerto No.1 in C, Op.15 (Cadenzas: Beethoven)
- Piano Concerto No.2 in B flat, Op.19 (Cadenzas: Beethoven)
Alexis Weissenberg (piano)
Berliner Philharmoniker
Recorded: 1977, Philharmonie, Berlin
STEREO/ADD

CD 3
Ludwig van Beethoven
- Piano Concerto No.3 in C minor, Op.37 (Cadenzas: Beethoven)
Recorded: 1976 & 1977, Philharmonie, Berlin
STEREO/ADD

- Piano Concerto No.5 in E flat, Op.73 “Emperor”
Recorded: 1974, Philharmonie, Berlin
STEREO/ADD

Alexis Weissenberg (piano)
Berliner Philharmoniker

CD 4
Ludwig van Beethoven
- Piano Concerto No.4 in G, Op.58
Alexis Weissenberg (piano)
Berliner Philharmoniker
Recorded: 1974, Philharmonie, Berlin
STEREO/ADD

- Triple Concerto in C, Op.56
David Oistrakh (violin), Mstislav Rostropovich (cello), Sviatoslav Richter (piano)
Berliner Philharmoniker
Recorded: 1969, Jesus Christus Kirche
STEREO/ADD

CD 5
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- Concerto for flute and harp in C, K299
James Galway (flute), Fritz Helmis (harp)

- Flute Concerto No.1 in G, K313
Andreas Blau (flute)

- Bassoon Concerto in B flat, K191
Günther Piesk (bassoon)

Berliner Philharmoniker
Recorded: 1971, The French Church, St Moritz
STEREO/ADD

CD 6
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- Clarinet Concerto in A, K622
Karl Leister (clarinet)

- Oboe Concerto in C, K314
Lothar Koch (oboe)

Berliner Philharmoniker
Recorded: 1971, The French Church, St Moritz
STEREO/ADD

CD 7
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- Sinfonia Concertante, K297b
Karl Steins (oboe), Herbert Stahr (clarinet), Manfred Braun (bassoon), Norbert Hauptmann (horn)
Berliner Philharmoniker
Recorded: 1971, The French Church, St Moritz
STEREO/ADD

Johannes Brahms
- Violin Concerto in D, Op.77
Gidon Kremer (violin)
Berliner Philharmoniker
Recorded: 1976, Philharmonie, Berlin
STEREO/ADD

CD 8
Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky
- Piano Concerto No.1 in B flat minor, Op.23
Alexis Weissenberg (piano)
Orchestre de Paris
Recorded: 1970, Salle Wagram, Paris
STEREO/ADD

Sergei Rachmaninov
- Piano Concerto No.2 in C minor, Op.18
Alexis Weissenberg (piano)
Berliner Philharmoniker
Recorded: 1972, Jesus Christus Kirche, Berlin-Dahlem
STEREO/ADD

CD 9
César Franck
- Symphonic Variations
Alexis Weissenberg (piano)
Berliner Philharmoniker
Recorded: 1972, Jesus Christus Kirche, Berlin
STEREO/ADD

Richard Strauss
- Don Quixote, Op.35
Mstislav Rostropovich (cello), Ulrich Koch (viola)
Berliner Philharmoniker
Recorded: 1975, Philharmonie, Berlin
STEREO/ADD

CD 10
Georg Philipp Telemann
- Trumpet Concerto in D (ed. Grebe)

Johann Nepomuk Hummel
- Trumpet Concerto in E flat (ed. Oubradous)

Leopold Mozart
- Trumpet Concerto in D (ed. Seiffert)

Antonio Vivaldi
- Trumpet Concerto (ed. Thilde)

Maurice André (trumpet)
Berliner Philharmoniker
Recorded: 1974, Philharmonie, Berlin
STEREO/ADD