Orchestral Recordings Philharmonia Orchestra 1949-1960;

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, which are now a jewel of the Warner Classics catalog. In this 13-CD box set, Karajan conducts the Philharmonia and the Berliner Philharmoniker in orchestral spectaculars that demonstrate not only the symphonically conceived grandeur and power for which he was renowened but also great wit and charm in popular classics.

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), La Scala, Milan, and the Orchestre de Paris.

CD Listing:

CD 1: Sibelius: Symphonies 2 & 5
CD 2: Sibelius: Symphonies 4 & 5, Finlandia
CD 3: Sibelius: Symphonies 6 & 7, Tapiola
CD 4: Sibelius: Finlandia, Valse triste; Britten: Frank Bridge Variation; Vaughan Williams: Tallis Fantasia; Handel: Water Music
CD 5: Kodály: Háry János Intermezzo; Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra, Music for Strings, Percussion & Celesta
CD 6: Rossini: Overtures
CD 7: Operatic preludes, dances and arias; Roussel: Sympjony No. 4
CD 8: Operatic preludes, dances and arias; Respighi: Pini di Roma
CD 9: Berlioz: Le carnival romain, Les troyens: Royal Hunt and Storm, Symphonie Fantastique
CD 10: Bizet: Carmen, L'Arlesienne: Suites; Chabrier: España, Marche joyeuse; Gounod & Faust: Ballet music
CD 11: Debussy: La mer; Ravel: Rapsodie espagnole; Chabrier: España, March joyeuse; Offenbach, Granados, Weinberger
CD 12: Offenbach: Gaîté Parisienne; Waldteufel: The Skaters' Waltz; Bartók: Music for Strings, Percussion & Celesta
CD 13: Dvorak: Symphony No. 9; Smetana: Vltava; Handel: Water Music