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Herbert von Karajan's Unitel concert films of the Brahms Symphonies will be released early in 2008 by Deutsche Grammophon DVD to mark the conductor's 100th anniversary.
Part of an extensive schedule of DVD and CD titles for the maestro's centenary, this Brahms cycle recorded in the early 1970s captures Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra at the peak of their powers. The first conductor to use film as an extension of his artistic credo, Karajan had by this time made several experimental films for Unitel with directors Henri-Georges Clouzot, Hugo Niebeling and Alke Falke; including a complete cycle of the Beethoven Symphonies. Having learnt from these men, Karajan became his own producer, adapting their ideas to suit his conception of how orchestral music should be filmed.
Brahms' four symphonies had been cornerstones of Karajan's vast repertoire since his early '20s and would remain with him until the end. And like the Beethoven and late Tchaikovsky Symphonies, Karajan recorded the Brahms many times. There are three complete cycles with the Berlin Philharmonic on DG (1964, 1978 and 1986-88) as well as earlier versions of individual symphonies with the Concertgebouw, Philharmonia and Vienna Philharmonic on other labels in addition to radio broadcasts from concert tours. The Unitel cycle was produced in 1973 and consequently falls between the first two DG sets.
As with his Unitel productions of the last three Tchaikovsky Symphonies, this particular Brahms cycle formed part of an intensely concentrated schedule of films made in the Berlin Philharmonie following a series of acoustic and structural adjustments there. In fact the actual platform was expanded to accommodate additional cameras.
Those familiar with Karajan's sound-only interpretations of the Brahms Symphonies will find these filmed performances pretty much the same; with the rich sonority and flexible phrasing of the 1964 cycle fused with the direct immediacy and structural mastery of the 1978 set. However, for all the stunning orchestral playing that Karajan conjures from the Berlin Philharmonic, these remain essentially classical interpretations in the style of Toscanini or Reiner; very different from the Viennese tradition as upheld by Leonard Bernstein and Karl Bohm.
In Bernstein's two DVD versions of the first Symphony - also produced by Unitel - he plays the introduction of the First Symphony at a swift, driving pace before making a 'non troppo' to the ensuing allegro. Bohm does the same on a distinquished NHK DVD of his 1975 Vienna Philharmonic concert from Japan. Karajan does the reverse, investing the introduction with a sostenuto of exceptional weight and expanse. He then presses ahead with the allegro at a swift, flowing tempo as indicated in the score.
Forward momentum is the key factor in Karajan's performance of the Brahms First. He therefore omits the exposition repeat in the first movement and conducts the two middle movements at a similarly flowing tempo, treating them as intermezzi between the intense drama of the first and last movements. Karajan achieves wonders with the demanding finale, encompassing the various tempo changes of the movement within a single overarching pulse. The famous 'big tune' is played with suitable dignity without excessive ritardandi while Karajan holds the tempo back slightly at the coda to avoid the usual headlong dash which spoils so many otherwise fine versions of this work.
Karajan always loved the Brahms Second Symphony and specialist collectors may well remember his famous 1947 Vienna recording for EMI. By 1973, the psycho-dynamic contrasts inherent in this outwardly serene symphony had been raised to an altogether higher level. Karajan's conducting is fascinating to watch during the opening movement: initially spare and affectionate, his gestures suggest the overall shape of the musical phrase - that 'sketching in' that enthralled so many players. Gradually, during the more ambigious development, the gestures become wider and more emphatic while the orchestra take wing as a collective entity.
Brahms' Third Symphony is given a generally direct, freshly contoured interpretation where Karajan seems to have resolved the question of tempo relationships between movements that had afflicted his previous LP versions. The mighty Fourth Symphony is given as powerfully tragic a performance as can be expected while retaining a masterful watch on the intricate variation-led forms of the work as a whole. Karajan's conducting in the great pasacaglia finale is both a model of technical clarity and aesthetic control.
Another benefit of actually being able to see as well as hear these interpretations is to study the actual orchestral layout. Here, the players - especially members of the string section - are clustered together in tightly organised groups. Both first and second violins are massed on the left of the stage as a kind of super section while violas and 'cellos are also densely populated around the front of the podium. Ultimately, this creates the richly homogenized sound quality of the orchestra Karajan himself called "the distant outswing and special breadth in beginning and ending a phrase" which made the Berliners the envy of the musical world.
Contrary to media preconceptions, Karajan is not photographed to the exclusion of his players. In fact, these performances capture many of the Berlin Philharmonic's key players at the peak of their careers: concertmasters Thomas Brandis and Leon Spierer, 'cellists Otmar Borwitzky and Eberhart Finke, oboist Lothar Koch, clarinettist Karl Leister and genius horn player Gerd Seifert. What has confused critics of these films in the past is that Karajan - via Clouzet and Falke - often liked to have dramatic close-ups of the instruments themselves. While the jokey 'pop video' style of Karajan's experimental phrase is left behind, vestiges remain with rapid-fire intercuts of timpani sticks and trumpet bells alongside wide-angle shots of the orchestra.
Karajan himself is frequently filmed close-up, but not actually face on. He is usually seen from a players' eye view within the violins or 'cellos or in profile from the immediate left or right of the podium. Sometimes he is shown from the fringes of the stage (the 'distant outswing' translated into visual terms) or from seats in the hall that face the conductor from across the players. Usually the timing of the shots between Karajan, the orchestra and the orchestra sections are immaculate: allowing you to see the line of the musical argument and experience the players entering AS they perform rather than the usual medley of missed cues and random shots of so many bog-standard tv relays.
The atmospheric lighting, which is a trade-mark of almost all Unitel's extensive back-catalogue, lends an essentially cinematic quality to these films. The newly remastered DVD transfer has sharpened up the picture and reduced the somewhat changable colour resolution of the old VHS tapes from the early 1990s. The actual sound quality is also greatly enhanced with a new PCM stereo or DTS surround track and inner detail is predictably clearer than the monorial videotape original.
Remastering has now given these 35-year-old productions an almost contemporary look and will be much appreciated by Karajan aficiandos who never got to see them first time round. Although there are other Brahms Symphony cycles on DVD (Bernstein, Bychkov, Masur and Norrington) as well as distinquished individual performances (Bohm, Kleiber and Wand) this superb Karajan set deserves the highest commendation.
Robert Kenchington.
