Dear <<First Name>>,

Two weeks ago we talked about Karajan and Anton von Webern, this week our Community Letter concerns another great 20th century composer – Béla Bartók. Apart from this, there is news from our laboratories – our first show of “Spin on Classical Music” is ready for you! And we’re very glad that we had the opportunity to talk to Alexander “Ali” Rahbari, a famous composer and conductor, and an assistant, pupil and protégé of Karajan’s. So - Read, watch, listen and stay healthy!

---P.R. Jenkins

Béla Bartók on discoverkarajan

discover more

Béla Bartók is one of the 20^th century’s most famous composers. Born in Hungary in 1881, he started composing in an impressionist manner combined with elements of national Hungarian music (Liszt, Kodály) and developed a highly original style marked by fiery rhythms and the influence of folk music. With his friend Kodály he also collected over 10,000 folk songs in Hungary, Romania and Slovakia. In 1940 Bartók had to emigrate to the United States where he wrote several works for prominent commissioners (Kussewitzki, Menuhin, Primrose) but at the same time suffered from illness and lack of funds. 75 years ago, on 26^th September 1945, Bartók died of leukemia in New York.
Bartók’s 3^rd piano concerto, written for his wife, the pianist Ditta Pásztory-Bartók, is one of his last works. He died before he could write down the last few bars, it was completed by his pupil Tibor Serly and first performed in 1946 by György Sandor and Eugene Ormandy because Ditta wasn’t able to play it so shortly after his death. Karajan first performed this concerto in 1951 with Paul Baumgartner and later in his life with Géza Anda and Francois-René Duchâble. This 1974 live recording features the subtle French pianist Jean-Bernard Pommier. Listen to it here.

This recording of Bartók’s “Cantata Profana” with the RAI Orchestra Rome in 1954 really is a Karajan rarity! Listen to it here.

The week in Karajan

Our first show of “spin on classical music” is available!
Enjoy it here.

I was interviewed by Arabella Fenyves from Radio Klassik Stephansdom in Vienna yesterday. We talked about Karajan (in German) and listened to some very fine music. If you'd like to join us click here!

Alexander Rahbari was born in Tehran in 1948. After his studies at the local conservatory he won a scholarship at the University of Vienna, where he took lessons in composition with Gottfried von Einem. In 1977/78 Rahbari won two major conductor’s competitions and attracted Karajan’s attention. Karajan invited him to be his assistant at the Salzburg Easter Festival and guest conductor with the Berlin Philharmonic. In the following decades Rahbari was chief conductor in Brussels, Zagreb and Málaga. This is part one of our interview with Julia Binek. Watch it here.

Recording of the week

The 1969 studio recording of Bartók’s “Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta” with the Berlin Philharmonic is well worth listening to. Karajan achieves an elegant, sophisticated interpretation, and the coupling with Stravinsky’s “Apollon Musagète” makes it an attractive album. Still available here!

Tips

Alexander Rahbari, our guest today, conducts Bartók’s best-loved orchestral work, the “Concerto for Orchestra”, in this recording with the BRT Orchestra Brussels in 1990. Click here to enjoy the zestful finale!

You want to read our Newsletter in a different language? Click on your language for translation:
العربية
Afrikaans
беларуская мова
български
català
中文（简体）
中文（繁體）
Hrvatski
Česky
Dansk
eesti keel
Nederlands
Suomi
Français
Deutsch
Ελληνική
हिन्दी
Magyar
Gaeilge
Indonesia
íslenska
Italiano
日本語
ភាសាខ្មែរ
한국어
македонски јазик
بهاس ملايو
Malti
Norsk
Polski
Português
Português - Portugal
Română
Русский
Español
Kiswahili
Svenska
עברית
Lietuvių
latviešu
slovenčina
slovenščina
српски
தமிழ்
ภาษาไทย
Türkçe
Filipino
украї́нська
Tiếng Việt

THE #KARAJANIST UNIVERSE

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

YouTube

Telegram Official Karajan Music Society

#Karajanist Merch