Documentary

Karajan, The Second Life

A film by Eric Schulz

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Cast

Peter Uehling — Karajan's biographer

Anne-Sophie Mutter — Violinist

Brigitte Fassbaender — Mezzo-soprano

Klaus König — Bayerisches Staatsorchester

Klaus Stoll — Berliner Philharmoniker

Krzysztof Polonek — Berliner Philharmoniker

Eberhard Finke — Berliner Philharmoniker

David Bell — Organist, tape editor EMI

Peter Alward — Former producer EMI

Hans Hirsch — Former producer Deutsche Grammophone

Hans Weber — Former audio producer, Deutsche Grammophone

Wolfgang Gülich — Former balance ingeneer, EMI

Andrew Wedman — Balance engineer, ARVATO

Godehard Pruin — Archivist, ARVATO

Ernst Pöppel — Neuroscientist

Program notes

Filmmaker Eric Schulz’s Karajan: The Second Life takes sharp look at the fabled maestro, pushing past the legend to get to the heart of this great man’s motivations. It was in the recording studio that his passion, dedication, and artistic vision were harnessed in service of an all-consuming quest for perfection in the form of an extended series of CD recordings of his core German Romantic repertoire. Schulz’s fascinating interviews with Karajan’s colleagues and contemporaries (including Anne-Sophie Mutter, Peter Alward, David Bell, Brigitte Fassbaender, and Eberhard Finke) shed particular light on the conductor’s personality. The filmmaker also includes never never-before-seen archival footage of the maestro in rehearsals and recording sessions and previously-unreleased privately-recorded phone conversations between Karajan and his recording producer Günter Hermanns. Almost thirty years after his passing, Karajan’s musical testament continues to fascinating and challenge musicians and music-lovers the world over.

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