Commanding the podium with his slender figure, theatrical shock of hair
and penetrating blue eyes, Herbert von Karajan projected the hieratic
image of the conductor as officiant of some quasi-mystic rite. And anyone
who ever saw him conduct live or on his many audiovisual recordings will
agree that in his performances, music did indeed become a religion and
Karajan its high-priest. Karajan (1908-1989) embodied classical music in
the general consciousness as an epoch-making conductor, media star, opera
producer, festival director and festival founder. But in spite of his
Promethean and widely varied activities, he remained a superb conductor,
with a grasp of the standard orchestral and operatic repertory from Mozart
to Schoenberg that was unsurpassed among his peers.