Herbert von Karajan - Mensch und Mythos

[darkehmen]

Here's something curious. The official Karajan site has a page listing DG's forthcoming releases for the 2008 celebrations,

- Click here for link

and among them is an audiobook (an audiobook?) called Herbert von Karajan - Mensch und Mythos by none other than Richard Osborne:



It does not appear to be an audiobook in the conventional sense -- that is, someone reading the text of a regular book for a cassette or CD. It's not a reading of Osborne's biography, in other words (at least, it doesn't appear to be), but a completely new work. Perhaps it will even have musical excerpts, in the manner of the audio essay on EMI's centenary site.

At any rate, here's the text description from the Karajan site:

Weiterhin erscheint im März 2008 das Hörbuch „Herbert von Karajan - Mensch und Mythos“ von Richard Osborne. Zum Teil widersprüchlichen und bislang kaum beleuchteten Facetten spürt dieses Werk nach. Es ist das erste Hörbuch über ein in vielen Belangen außergewöhnliches Künstlerleben und fördert Details zu Tage, die auch Karajan-Kenner überraschen werden. Kaum verwunderlich, denn mit Richard Osborne zeichnet ein Autor verantwortlich, der zu den wohl intimsten noch lebenden Kennern und Wegbegleitern Karajans zu zählen ist.

That's rather beyond my rudimentary German, so I ran it through a Google Translator, and got this:

Also released in March 2008 on audiobook "Herbert von Karajan - man and the myth" by Richard Osborne. Some contradictory and yet barely illuminated facets feels this work. It is the first audiobook on an exceptional in many aspects of life and promotes artists details of days, the experts also Karajan surprise. Hardly surprising, as with Richard Osborne draws an author, one of the most intimate living connoisseurs describes Karajan to count.

That's about as vague as Google translations ever are, but I suppose the gist of the book comes across.

I only hope it will be offered in an English version as well as in German. Osborne being an English writer, you would think so, but one never knows...

[~Linda~]

Further details of "Herbert von Karajan - Mensch und Mythos" are now on the Centenary page of my site under Recordings-Deutsche Grammophon.


www.karajan.co.uk/centenary.html

[darkehmen]

How fascinating: a "radio documentary of Karajan's life" with "interview inserts, and music inserts."

You mention that it is "only being sold in Germany and Austria," though -- so I suppose that means it will be a German-language production, yes? That means that they must have taken Osborne's text and translated it into German. What a shame that they didn't record an English-language version too. I suppose the radio documentary on the EMI centennary site is the next best thing. I imagine this DG production will follow a similar format.

I'm especially interested in the music excerpts. I wonder if this program will do what the EMI doc did, and compare excerpts of Karajan's conducting with those of other conductors. I find those comparisons extremely illuminating.

[darkehmen]

Incidentally, this audiobook is now available for pre-order:

www.amazon.de/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00131T3AI/

[~Linda~]

darkehmen said:

What a shame that they didn't record an English-language version too.

Yes, I agree.
It seems incredible that the documentary is not available in English, particularly when one thinks of the large Japanese market (see mahalo's post, Special selling corner dedicated to Karajan) where the English language is probably more accessible than German.

[michael]

I listened to a few excerpts on amazon.de. I think this is really just a translation of excerpts from Osborne's book, not even something Osborne specifically wrote for this audiobook - and why would he, when all the material is there in his epic biography anyway? So I don't think you are missing anything here.

What would be really more interesting for English speaking readers would be a translation of Wolfgang Stresemann's Karajan memoirs.
Stresemann was the Intendant of the BP from the late 20a to late 70s and then he was called back from retirement in the 80s when the big crises had erupted between Karajan and the orchestra.
Stresemann was a very old school Prussian diplomat (his father had actually been foreign minister and chancellor in the Weimar Republic) and he manages to paint a respectful, but still critical and complex picture of Karajan the artist and the man. Apart from Osborne's biography, probably the best book about Karajan I know.