Conductor Herbert von Karajan Died in 1989

He served as the Berlin Philharmonic's principal conductor for 34 years

Austrian conductor Herbert von Karajan died on this day in 1989 from a heart attack. He was 81 years old.

A piano prodigy, Karajan displayed exceptional talent from a young age. Between 1916 and 1926, he pursued his musical education at the Mozarteum, Salzburg, under the guidance of Franz Ledwinka for piano, Franz Zauer for harmony, and Bernhard Paumgartner for composition and chamber music.

Paumgartner recognized his remarkable potential in conducting and encouraged him to focus on this area. After graduating from the conservatory in 1926, Karajan furthered his studies at the Vienna Academy, where he studied piano under Josef Hofmann and conducting under Alexander Wunderer and Franz Schalk.

Karajan made his conducting debut in Salzburg in January 1929. This performance caught the eye of the general manager of the Stadttheater in Ulm, resulting in Karajan's initial role as assistant Kapellmeister at the theater. In 1933, he was promoted to first Kapellmeister, due to his predecessor leaving Germany because of the rise of the Nazi Party.

Another notable conducting position was as Germany's youngest Generalmusikdirektor in Aachen in 1935.

During the Nazi era, Karajan debuted at the Salzburg Festival, with the Vienna Philharmonic, the Berlin Philharmonic, and conducted at the Berlin State Opera. Karajan was a member of the Nazi Party, although he maintained that he had joined for strictly career reasons.

In 1938 Karajan made his debut with the Berlin Philharmonic. In 1956, he was appointed their principal conductor, Furtwängler's successor. He maintained this role for 34 years.

Todya, he is the top-selling classical music recording artist of all time – having sold an estimated 200 million records.

DVORÁK | SYMPHONY NO. 9 ‘NEW WORLD’ | HERBERT VON KARAJAN & VIENNA PHILHARMONIC