BBC Radio 3 Record Review – Karajan and Prokofiev

No sooner have I blogged about Herbert von Karajan being voted top of Gramophone magazine’s Hall of Fame than he gets chosen by Geoffrey Norris as the Building a Library www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/cdreview first choice for Prokofiev’s Fifth Symphony.

Now I know that Karajan is not universally admired but at his best he can produce magnificent results.

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This mid-price CD on the Deutsche Grammophon Galleria label www.deutschegrammophon.com which also includes a performance of Prokofiev’s Classical Symphony, seems to be another case of Karajan being successful in what seems to be unusual repertoire for him.

I am not familiar with this recording but from the extracts played, Karajan seems to add a degree of grit to the playing of the Berlin Philharmonic. A complete performance of Karajan’s recording will be played on BBC Radio 3 at 11am on Monday 23^rd April 2012, a broadcast that I will certainly try to hear.