Special selling corner dedicated to Karajan

[mahalo]

Karajan visited Japan 11 times while he was alive.
The number of his total performances in Tokyo is 74
which is more than those in N.Y or London.

Tokyo has been very familiar with Karajan.
Last week I happened to meet an incredible scene
along with the main street in Ginza.

There are many upper-class department stores in Ginza.
There is a famous CD shop. In front of its entrance
on the first floor, there was a special selling corner
dedicated ONLY to Karajan!

I don't remember that, however in 1970's such scene might be
observed because Karajan and Berliner Philharmoniker often visited
Japan and were very popular as if they were a kind of Rock stars.

I am showing a photo which I took then.
Please click the following link to see the photo:

blogs.yahoo.co.jp/mahalo04/53115074.html

There were tons of CDs and DVDs of Karajan on the table.
Please look at the panel behind the shop assistant.
There is a picture which is as same as the following pamphlet.



Yes, it was taken on Jan.2008, not in 70's.


Is anyone aware of such a special selling corner for Karajan other than in Japan
(eg. Europe or Americas)? I am very interested in that.

[darkehmen]

Thank you very much for sharing that magnificent poster, as well as the picture and info about the "Karajan corner."

Isn't there a Herbert von Karajan Platz in Tokyo as well? I found a photo at wikipedia which suggests that there is:

tinyurl.com/2whxck

You are making me eager to visit Japan.

I envy your culture a great deal, and I find that today, Japan often exhibits a greater appreciation for Old World music heritage than the Europe and the West itself.

mahalo said:

Is anyone aware of such a special selling corner for Karajan other than in Japan
(eg. Europe or Americas)? I am very interested in that.

The Herbert von Karjaan Centrum in Vienna had a music shop that, I believe, focussed on Karajan's recordings.



I believe there was a photo of the interior of the shop at karajan.org, before the site's redesign. It looked like a very attractive shop, and it's one of my great regrets that I never managed to visit the Centrum while it was open. The music shop closed in August 2006, and the Centrum itself shortly thereafter.

The Karajan Archives have now reopened in Salzburg, but I don't know if they have a Karajan Shop or not.

Have any of the forum's readers been to the new Karajan Salzburg Archive since the opening? Did anyone get the chance to visit the Karjan Centrum in Vienna while it was open? I'd love to hear your impressions...

[mahalo]

Hi darkehmen,

darkehmen said:

Isn't there a Herbert von Karajan Platz in Tokyo as well?

I am sorry to say that I am not aware of any special "SELLING" corner around Karajan Platz in Tokyo CURRENTLY.
However, I expect it will be around coming Apr.5 (when it is Karajan's birthday).

There is Suntory Hall in front of Karajan Platz in Tokyo.
When the hall was to be built, it is said that Karajan advised because he knew about the architecture and
sound effect of Philharmonie in Berlin which also had the vineyard style as Suntory Hall.

The following is the image of the marble plate on the wall in Suntory Hall.



It shows the address of gratitude that Karajan offered to Mr.Keizo Saji who was once the owner of Suntory Hall.

darkehmen said:

You are making me eager to visit Japan.

It is a very good news. And thank you very much for your interest in Japan.
Japan is a very beautiful place. There are Mt.Fuji, old shrines and great Buddhism temples.
Restaurants can serve delicious dishes ("Michelin Guide" gives the most honored points to the restaurants in Tokyo.)

[john]

Darkehmen/Mahalo

I visited the Centrum in Vienna a few years ago, it was in a grand building and it did indeed have a shop where you could buy CDs, DVDs, Books, photo's and even a bust of Karajan.

Upstairs there was a wonderful small room where films, talks and concerts were held.
Each visitor was given a tour and presented with a special CD of the Blue Danube Waltz from the Vienna 1987 new year concert, (once again I shall ask Linda to post a photo of this).

A friend of mine has recently visited the new Institute in Salzburg, there is no shop, no meeting rooms and as we already know from previous posts on the Forum a much less detailed Archive.
Furthermore, they have not yet replied to 3 e-mails I have sent them over the past month or so.

Regards
John

[mahalo]

John,

Thank you very much for your information.
I expect that there will be a "Karajan Corner" in Austria where
the home country for him is.

[darkehmen]

Mahalo, thank you for posting the photograph of that magnificent plaque in the Suntory Hall. It's remarkable to see Karajan's words, and even his signature, immortalized in gold lettering. His comments are very gracious. Thank you for the picture. I do hope to visit Japan someday, and when I do, I will definitely make a stop by this hall.

john said:

I visited the Centrum in Vienna a few years ago, it was in a grand building and it did indeed have a shop where you could buy CDs, DVDs, Books, photo's and even a bust of Karajan.

Upstairs there was a wonderful small room where films, talks and concerts were held.
Each visitor was given a tour and presented with a special CD of the Blue Danube Waltz from the Vienna 1987 new year concert

Thank you for your fascinating recollections, John, but I must say, your words break my heart. How I wish I'd had the opportunity to visit this marvellous place. If I had known that it would close down, I would surely have found a way to visit it. I wonder if the closure coincided with the death of Uli Markle, to whom, as I understand, was bequeathed the stewardship of Karajan's artistic legacy.

john said:

A friend of mine has recently visited the new Institute in Salzburg, there is no shop, no meeting rooms and as we already know from previous posts on the Forum a much less detailed Archive.

This is very sad to hear, especially on the occasion of the centenary. If only the Karajan Centrum had been able to remain open a while longer. Considering the revenue that HvK's recordings surely still pull in, I have a hard time believing the money wasn't there to operate it.

Again, I feel a profound sense of loss that I wasn't able to visit it.

[~Linda~]

john said:

Each visitor was given a tour and presented with a special CD of the Blue Danube Waltz from the Vienna 1987 new year concert, (once again I shall ask Linda to post a photo of this).