Philharmonic Autocrat

[john]

My friend John Hunt has just completed the 4th edition of Philharmonic Autocrat Karajan discography.
In his introductory notes John says that alongside the official body of commercial recordings there is also a vast cornucopia of broadcasts and in-house recordings available and, despite the fact that most of these are unauthorised, there are many items of importance which highlight significant moments in Karajan’s career. John has interspersed these live broadcasts in a listing alongside the official studio recordings.
All formats are documented including 78 Shellac Discs and the NHK Japan live recordings. Also on the European market the website
rarebroadcasts.wordpress.com/ list high quality Karajan radio transmissions, many of which have never been available previously.
I have a number of these and the sound quality is superb.
The book is available from Travis & Emery 17 Cecil Court London WC2N 4EZ

Best regards

John

[charlesb]

I rushed to Travis and Emery after work tonight, arriving about 10 minutes before they closed.

They had never heard of Philharmonic Autocrat or John Hunt and they had no record in their files that the book had been published.

I guess that I will just have to hope that Amazon has it one day.

[David]

Hi Charles,

The following ISBN search confirms the existence of the book; although of course any confirmation isn’t at all necessary following all the info in John’s posting.

www.isbnsearch.org/isbn/9781901395310

Although the date of publication is shown as December 2016 (possibly should be 2015?), there’s a link on this ISBN page to Amazon in the US showing the book to be available from ......
er, Travis and Emery in London.

Also I’ve noticed that the book is listed on Amazon in the UK showing it to be available from ......
er, Travis and Emery in London.

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1901395316/sr=8-5/qid=1461677415

Possibly arriving in the shop ten minutes after opening, rather than ten minutes before closing, and you may have had a better result ......
or am I becoming too old and cynical ?

Regards -
David

[charlesb]

Thanks for your kind words David.

I emailed the shop this morning (using the address in John's scan of the back cover) and they confirmed that they DID have copies of the book in the shop. I went back to the shop this evening after work and different staff were working. They apologised for their colleagues failure to find the book on the previous day.

If you buy the book in the shop it is £24.95. On Amazon it is the same price but you may have to pay extra for postage.

If you cannot get into London and don't want to use Amazon, you can order the book from the shop for £29.95 in the UK (so Amazon is cheaper than ordering it from the bookshop). Their email address is [e-mail] .

For this version of the book, the first part of the discography lists every recording known to John Hunt in date order, including live recordings, some of which have not been released on LP or CD. The second half of the book lists the recordings in composer order, with a cross reference to the entry in the chronological listing.

Unlike version 2 and version 3 of the discography, there is no attempt to list Karajan concerts that have not been recorded.

I do find it strange that John Hunt has not listed CDRs issued by the Japanese labels Fachmann fur Klassischer Musik, Sardana,"OOO" and Pandora's box (among others). Many of the recordings they have issued (for example the Mahler 9's of 1st May and 27th August 1982) are listed as "these recordings remain unpublished" in John's new book. The same is true of the New York performances of 1974 and 1976, issued by Disco Archivia in the United States. Also the opera recordings issued by www.celestialaudio.com.au (including wonderful transfers of the 1980 Salzburg "Parsifal" and 1970 Gotterdammerung) are not included.

However, what is here is marvellous. John Hunt has done a great service to Karajan lovers through the years, both through his books and his help in setting up the performance and recording databases on www.karajan.org .

[tjh]

Interesting to find 2 concerts in December 1970 of Das Lied von der Erde with 3 singers each.

[philharmonie]

@ tjh: in fact: the two Mahler concerts from 1970 were completed with 3 singers - I row the times under the same phenomenon one, as the orchestral variations of Schoenberg were played: he was once again looking for the Optimun. Interestingly, that is precisely not to find Arkadia CD in the database of the Karajan Institute (Here there is no commercial rights to these pirated recordings). By contrast, the institute lists the Foyer CD of the concert 27/08/1972 - by John Hunt finds this in 1991 appeared again no attention.
Here is a scan of the two CDs from my archive:

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[philharmonie]

Sardana, Fachmann & Co.: CDRs operate although the CD format, but technically and qualitatively it can not be equated, as industrially with a Master pressed CDs.
This not to list here, I think it is right. By contrast, however, issues of private labels like De Agostini - which are pressed CDs - not to list, I think again wrong.
In the years to 1992, it was very easy according to an I know producers to access to provide to broadcasting archives and based on the original recordings to pull copies.
Recorded CD R and DVD R have short half-lives and are in data technology of very poor quality.

The Missa Solemnis never appeared as LD SLV 53483, it was - as the Osaka concert 1984 and the Beethoven and Brahms overtures - announced for the 1st Quatal 1995 in the trade press, but as a laserdisc is not published it. All three productions appeared much later than DVD. Missa: SIBC 61, Osaka: SIBC 50 ans Ouvertures: SIBC 60. This official Sony releases but missing again in the new discography.

Remarkable I present now but in Mozart's Don Giovanni firmly: For many years, I am looking for the live recording from 1968 on CD, in the old edition as GOP 53 and Paragon 84009-84011 listed. I have always been this doubt. In the new edition GOP is 53 now listed as LP and CD next to the Paragon now the Nuova Era NE 2330-2332. NE 2330 - 2332 but is now listed in the new edition under 373 and 392nd. The Complete Edition 1968 CD I put more into question, although there are two editions of extracts (again not listed in the new edition). Below listed scan of the issues (Complete recording in 1969 and excerpts 1968th) from my archive:

Best wishes Tilo

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