BBC Documentary

[David]

I have heard recently that a documentary on Karajan is currently being prepared by film-maker John Bridcut and '1212 Productions' for future broadcasting on the BBC FOUR channel.

I haven’t as yet found any other details although I'm aware that Klaus Stoll has been invited by the BBC’s team to participate in the documentary. Those of us who are familiar with the recent film ‘The Second Life’ will be aware of his significant and well-informed contribution to that production.

Klaus Stoll was a bassist in the Berlin Philharmonic for over forty years from 1965 – i.e. one of that group of individuals responsible for causing serious strain on my subwoofers over the years!

If anyone notices anything of relevance then please chip in. I suppose though that the important thing is for us all to be aware of the date of the actual broadcast, although I suspect that this will be many months from now.

Regards
David

[David]

Re the BBC documentary – the film-maker John Bridcut has his own ‘Crux Productions’ website where it should be possible to monitor progress. The current entry on his home page states that:

“Work is currently in progress on a musical portrait of the Austrian conductor, Herbert von Karajan. More details on this shortly.”

www.johnbridcut.com

Regards
David

[lee]

Thanks for alerting us all to this David.

The last time there was a documentary on Karajan on BBC4 was Tony Palmer's History of the Salzburg Festival, which I found to be somewhat biased against Karajan, sometimes astonishingly so (especially when comparing his and Karl Bohm's association with the NSDAP); very BBC, right-on, PC etc.... I'm hoping this one will be much better.

Your mention of the Karajan film "The Second Life" is most pertinent. For any Forum Member who has not seen this, it comes with an 11/10 recommendation from me - "Beauty as I see It" may be the more intoxicating viewing, but The Second Life has some very revealing moments in it.

As ever David, I hope you are well and good to see you still batting away in Linda's Forum after all this time.

Warmest regards,

lee

[David]

Hello Lee,

Good to be in contact again after several years and thank you for your warm words. Yes – still batting although increasingly failing to hit the ball – most definitely not a topic for discussion on these pages ......

I couldn’t agree more with your rating of the “The Second Life”. I have lost count of the number of times I have played this through. I find it to be almost ‘moreish’ and am still detecting nuances which I had overlooked previously. As you say, 11/10.

In a few months from now will be the 30th anniversary of the 1985 RFH concert. I trust that your Testament recording of the event along with that from the 1988 concert still get the occasional airing. I know from your previous postings that we were both in the hall for these highly memorable performances. Your postings of August 16, 2009 and October 5, 2008 say it all ......

With Best Wishes
David

[lee]

Likewise, David - I dropped the ball when preparing for the 2010 London Marathon and then forgot my loggin details .... Oh well, it's great to be back and in spite of your modesty, your postings are as informative as I remember them.

Was it really nearly 30 years ago since I, as a young schoolboy, sat behind the BPO to see that Heldenleben in 1985 ?! Yes, the Testament recordings still get an airing, indeed, the final London concert often gets two-for-the-price of one, since I need to have enforced break after the Verklarte Nacht, such is the power of the music-making.

I'm pleased you agree with me with regards to "The Second Life" - the section I found most extraordinary was his live conducting of the Mahler 5. Okay, it is a flaw that the documentary was talking about those later Mahler IX's at that point, but the sight of Karajan conducting the Fifth as spied from the back of the orchestra was to me astonishing, the sheer intensity of his conducting captured in a way that the more polished Unitel productions at the time cannot quite match. I must watch it again now !!

Warmest regards,

lee

[David]

I have noticed today that an entry has appeared on John Bridcut’s site which indicates that the film is expected to be shown on BBC Four at 19.30 on Friday 5 December. Only expected, meaning possibly not yet definite.

www.johnbridcut.com

www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour

I suspect that viewing the documentary outside the U.K. on the BBC’s IPlayer may not be possible. I’ve noticed previously when attempting to view live programmes in other countries that they have been blocked.

However, I’ve no way of testing this and so just in case here are the corresponding times elsewhere:

Berlin - 20.30
New York - 14.30
Los Angeles - 11.30
Tokyo - 04.30 (Saturday)

Regards David

[lee]

Thanks for this David - well spotted indeed and it's in my diary. I've found Klaus Stoll in the past to be a most genial individual and a fair critic; I'm looking forward to this documentary very much !

lee

[lee]

Without meaning to steal David's thunder, I can confirm that the documentary is scheduled to be broadcast as originally planned on 5 December at 7.30 on BBC4; I'll try and keep one and all appraised of the situation.

lee

[stuartg]

Details of the Karajan documentary on BBC 4


www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04tfvwp

[David]

John Bridcut discusses his forthcoming documentary –

www.classical-music.com/blog/karajans-magic-and-myth

[philharmonie]

Is a DVD release of the film intended?

[David]

One of the highlights in John Bridcut’s documentary was for me where Karajan is seen working with the European Community Youth Orchestra in 1980 prior to their live performance at that year’s Salzburg Festival. I seemed to remember that this was discussed in the early days of Linda’s Forum and have now located the following posting by Darkehmen in February 2008. I’ve taken the liberty of repeating his words below:

topic: Beethoven Violin Concerto - Mutter/EYO

“I finally obtained this DVD from Classical Video Rarities. It was clearly recorded from the Japanese Toshiba laserdisc, as it features Japanese subtitles, and the opening credits name Toshiba and EMI. This might be one reason why this splendid film hasn't been released on DVD. If EMI owns the rights, and Mutter is signed with DG, perhaps there's a contract problem.

At any rate, it's thoroughly enjoyable, although the sound is unfortunately mono, and the picture quality could use a digital remastering. The Classical Video Rarity transfer is a good DVD-R recording, and probably loses little in quality from the laserdisc. One forgets just how much of an advance, picture-wise, DVDs were over laserdiscs (let alone over VHS).

The film is of note because it fills the "gap years" (filmed 1980, c.1981) between the final Unitel productions and the Telemondial era. It comprises a rehearsal with the European Youth Orchestra, followed by a performance in Salzburg.

The rehearsal, in the Philharmonie, is fascinating in the same way that Karajan's Clouzot films are. Because the conductor is working with an orchestra that isn't quite top-flight, he has to attend to many particulars. One gets a real sense of Karajan's training method. At one point, he actually taps on the stand, like a metronome, to keep the players in tempo (an interesting method, and it works). He also employs an intriguing technique, described in Osborne's "Conversations with Von Karajan" book, of asking the players to hold a fermata for many, many moments, to teach them to sustain a tone. Even the casual listener can discern the weakness of their playing before this instruction, and their increase in power afterward.

One forgets just how gorgeous Anne-Sophie Mutter was in her youth. One of the loveliest young women I've ever seen. She looks resplendent during the Salzburg performance, dressed in a white gown with a silk shawl. In some ways, I find her performance in this video even more compelling than in the Telemondial film of the concerto, because while there, she has perfected the work, and makes it look easy, here, she requires a little more...effort, for lack of a better word.

Interestingly, in this film, when she plays the theme from the third movement, she makes it sound rather more like a folk dance than she does in the DG recording, or in the Telemondial film.

The orchestra is...well, what can one say? It's not the Berlin Philharmonic, but they do a reasonable job. Comparisons are difficult because of the deficiencies in sound, and I'm sure that at least part of the reason for the lack of strength in the tutti is due simply to the limitations of the mono recording.

The camera work is mixed. The shots of Karajan and Mutter are wonderful, and in fact, they remind me more of Siegfried Lauterwasser's famous photographs of Karajan than do any other videos of the conductor (earlier or later). The orchestral filming is disappointing, though -- sweeping, meaningless middle-distance shots, for the most part. The Telemondial films rather spoil one for this more basic kind of concert filming.

Another point of interest is seeing a concert in the mighty Festspielhaus. One of the treats of the Telemondial films is getting to view both the Philharmonie and the Musikverein, but sadly, none were filmed in Karajan's third great temple of music, the Festspielhaus (except for the Jessye Norman video, if it exists). A couple of the Unitel films were shot there, but I would have loved to have seen a few Telemondial concerts recorded on this magnificent stage.

What an extraordinary act of generosity on Karajan's part to have worked with these young people, especially at a time when he had shed all of his ties to other orchestras and institutions, and was concentrating solely on the Berlin and Vienna orchestras. During the rehearsal, and during the performance, he never once patronized the players, or let them off easy, or gave them meaningless praise, but treated them like serious musicians, required them to improve their work, and devoted just as much attention to their performance as he did to any of the famous orchestras he led.

If these young performers retained any of the lessons that he taught them during the rehearsal, I'm sure that they became an infinitely better ensemble.”

The reference to Classical Video Rarities would still appear to be valid –

www.classicalvideorarities.com/store/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=karajan&sort=1a&page=2

Many thanks Darkehmen and best wishes –
David

P.S.
Tilo - please view your messages.

[Deleted]

Thanks David.

An unexpected account came from Harnoncourt on Karajan stopping the Mozart Requiem. I suppose though that was inevitable.

[David]

I noticed recently an addition to YOUTUBE which possibly makes it worth revisiting John Bridcut’s excellent and at times moving BBC documentary. Previously I mentioned Darkehmen’s February 2008 posting in which he discussed the rather obscure video of Karajan working with the European Community Youth Orchestra in 1980.

John Bridcut himself describes this in his article in the Daily Telegraph on 5th December 2014 (the day of the broadcast):

“But it was a remarkable piece of film, which I had never seen before, which sold Karajan to me. He was rehearsing the students of the European Community Youth Orchestra in 1980, for a performance of the Beethoven Violin Concerto. Unlike his regular work in Berlin or Vienna, every player was new to him, and he to them. It resulted in a masterclass of gentle, humorous, kindly yet uncompromising instruction (in English) about one of the greatest pieces in the orchestral repertoire. It is compelling to watch.”

The complete film is now available on -

www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4t0Tr-0MqY

The larghetto, which was the extract shown in the documentary, starts at about 16 minutes. In particular I was captivated where Karajan is focusing on his vision to reach that unearthly sostenuto at the ‘new harmony’ – a most fitting remembrance to that unique era which I fear has gone for ever.

Regards David

[lee]

Many thanks, David, for taking the time to alert us all to this.

Good to see you in the Forum - and I hope you are in good health as ever.

Best wishes,

lee