Karajan, Herbert von (1908–1989)

Austrian conductor. He dominated European classical music performance after 1947. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra 1955–89, and artistic director of the Vienna State Opera 1957–64 and of the Salzburg Festival 1956–60. A perfectionist, he cultivated an orchestral sound of notable smoothness and transparency; he also staged operas and directed his own video recordings. He recorded the complete Beethoven symphonies four times, and had a special affinity with Mozart and Bruckner, although his repertoire extended from Bach to Schoenberg.