Herbert von Karajan: A Life in Music (OSBORNE, Richard)

Herbert von Karajan was one of the twentieth century’s most prodigiously gifted performing artists. Richard Osborne knew him and had many conversations with him. These, however, were only the starting point for a biography which draws on interviews with those who worked with Karajan during his sixty-year career...

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Herbert von Karajan was one of the twentieth century’s most prodigiously gifted performing artists. Richard Osborne knew him and had many conversations with him. These, however, were only the starting point for a biography which draws on interviews with those who worked with Karajan during his sixty-year career, and on a vast array of primary archive material which has never previously been examined.

This biography explores Karajan’s life and music-making against the background of European music and politics in the years 1908-1989. The Austrian theatre producer Otto Schenk once said of Karajan: ‘He is not only a musician. He is a whole period. When I was a boy, he was already a period in our history.’ This epic biography explores that period, and the enigma of the man who made it.

‘Richard Osborne’s Karajan is a monumental work of scholarship, of integrity, of sympathy born of respect and humanity. A woven tapestry, rather than a mere listing of events and accomplishments, it reveals itself quietly and objectively, leaving the reader to judge a man whose personality was inseparable from the history of his age and his own background.’ - Yehudi Menuhin

‘Meticulously researched and intellectually thrilling...a wise, endearingly funny book.’ - Peter Conrad, Observer

‘A vivid, hard-edged, candid and open-eyed portrait.’ - Michael Kennedy, Sunday Telegraph

‘A towering achievement...of immense importance.’ - Peter Alward, Gramophone

‘Likely to prove a classic.’ - David Gutman, Classic CD

‘A convincing and entertaining portrait of the world of music of the age.’ - Caroline Moorehead, Daily Telegraph

‘An absolute joy to read.’ - Charles Osborne, Jewish Chronicle

‘Fascinating...definitive for the foreseeable future.’ - Paul Moor, Time

‘Superb biography of a difficult and brilliant man.’ - Literary Editor’s selection, Observer