Karajan and Bernstein Contrasted

I find it strange that Karajan never conducted (let's say recorded) the entire series of Mahler's symphonies....a sense of inferiority towards Bernstein?

Ettore wrote:

I find it strange that Karajan never conducted (let's say recorded) the entire series of Mahler's symphonies....a sense of inferiority towards Bernstein?

Perhaps he simply was not an author for whom he felt naturally inclined as with others. He did, however, record 4, 5, 6 and 9 and Das Lied von der Erde. Besides, Bernstein performed and recorded only Bruckner's 9th, perhaps for the same reason (certainly not due to a sense of inferiority towards Karajan).

In my opinion, Karajan does not excel at anything, in the sense that there is always some other conductor who does it better than him.

Ettore wrote:

I find it strange that Karajan never conducted (let's say recorded) the entire series of Mahler's symphonies....a sense of inferiority towards Bernstein?

More likely a sense of annoyance regarding Mahler and an inability to assimilate him.

Marebu wrote:

In my opinion, Karajan does not excel at anything, in the sense that there is always some other conductor who does better than him.

Interesting position. How about corroborating it with some examples?

Marebu wrote:

It is more likely a sense of discomfort regarding Mahler and an inability to assimilate him.

Mah... All things considered, Mahler's Fifth and Sixth in Karajan's interpretation are peaks in the history of interpretation. Perhaps you would do well to listen to them before saying that Karajan was "unable to assimilate him."

Marebu wrote:

A sense of annoyance regarding Mahler and an inability to assimilate him is more likely.

... could it be that one was Jewish and the other a Nazi?

Marebu wrote:

A sense of annoyance regarding Mahler and an inability to assimilate him is more likely.

Business is business, and in the 70s (the era of the second Mahlerian rediscovery), someone like Karajan could only ride the wave, and the fourth, fifth, and sixth follow this idea.

Regarding the ninth, I would have a few more doubts (at least a couple of recordings testify to this); it was in his wheelhouse, just like the DLVDE and the Kindertotenlieder...

I must say that I don't dislike Karajan's Mahler

jack wrote:

... could it be that one was Jewish and the
other a Nazi?

Still with this story...

I believe that Karajan was not an anti-Semite; he became a Nazi only because he was a conformist. In any case, he was not a politician. Yes, a better and braver man would have been Toscanini, but it is important to distinguish sins of commission from those of omission, such as this one by Karajan: he was a "fellow traveller" who followed a multitude that was doing harm in which he himself had no interest. His wife was indeed in danger for some time because she had too much Jewish blood according to the racial laws, but in the end the Nazis let the matter go because of Karajan's usefulness to them. Karajan conducted Mahler during his lifetime, and how could he have ignored him, if only because Mahler was one of the greatest masters of orchestration.