Karl Böhm
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Karl Böhm (August 28, 1894 – August 14, 1981) was a prominent Austrian conductor.
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[edit] Conducting Career
Born in Graz, Austria, Böhm studied law and earned a doctorate on this subject. He later studied music at the Graz Conservatory. On the recommendation of Karl Muck, Bruno Walter engaged him at Munich's Bavarian State Opera in 1921. Darmstadt (1927) and Hamburg (1931) were the next places he resided as a young conductor, before succeeding Fritz Busch as head of Dresden's Semper Opera in 1934. He secured a top post at the Vienna State Opera in 1943, eventually becoming music director. Image:Http://www.andreas-praefcke.de/wunderlich/bios/boehm.jpg
Böhm's career prospered after the war, with his native country usually the locus of his work. The Vienna Philharmonic and the Salzburg Festival featured prominently. He additionally resumed ties in Dresden, at the Staatskapelle. Late in life, he began a guest-conducting relationship with the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) in a 1973 appearance with the LSO at the Salzburg Festival.[1] He was given the title of LSO President, which he held until his death.
Perhaps his greatest contribution to music lay in bringing to life the operas of his close colleague Richard Strauss. Böhm led the premieres of Strauss's late works Die Schweigsame Frau (1935) and Daphne (1938), of which he is the dedicatee, recorded all of the major operas (often making cuts to the scores), and regularly revived Strauss's operas with strong casts during his tenures in Vienna and Dresden, as well as at the Salzburg Festival.
Böhm was praised for his rhythmically robust interpretations of the operas and symphonies of Mozart, and in the 1960s he was entrusted with recording a full cycle of the symphonies with the Berlin Philharmonic. Böhm's brisk and plain way with Wagner won adherents, as did his readings of the symphonies of Brahms, Bruckner and Schubert. His 1971 recorded cycle of Beethoven's symphonies with the Vienna Philharmonic likewise drew high regard. On a less common front, Böhm championed and made recordings of Berg's operas Wozzeck and Lulu before they gained a position in the repertory.
He received numerous honours, among them first Austrian Generalmusikdirektor in 1964. He was widely feted on his 80th birthday, ten years later; his colleague Herbert von Karajan presented him with a clock to mark that occasion.
Böhm died in Salzburg. Actor Karlheinz Böhm, the conductor's son, is known for his role as the young Emperor Franz Joseph in the three Sissi movies.
[edit] Video Recordings of Operas (mostly now on DVD)
Notes: each "?" mark refers to one unknown principal cast member; roles are listed high to low voice.
- Mozart: Die Entführung aus dem Serail - Gruberová/Grist/Araiza/Orth/Talvela - 1980, Munich - DG
- Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro - Grist/Watson/Mathis/Berry/Wixell - 1966, Salzburg - TDK
- Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro - Freni/Te Kanawa/Ewing/Prey/Fischer-Dieskau - 1976, Ponnelle movie - DG
- Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro - ?/?/?/Prey/? - 1980, Tokyo - unknown label
- Strauss-Jhn II: Die Fledermaus - Janowitz/Holm-R/Windgassen/?/Wächter - 1972, Schenk movie - Unitel
- Strauss-R: Ariadne auf Naxos - Hillebrecht/Grist/Jurinac/Thomas - 1965, Salzburg - TDK
- Strauss-R: Ariadne auf Naxos - Janowitz/Gruberová/Schmidt-T?/Kollo - 1978, Vienna - Unitel
- Strauss-R: Elektra - Rysanek/Ligendza/Varnay/Beirer/Fischer-Dieskau - 1981, Friedrich movie - Decca
- Strauss-R: Salome - Stratas/Varnay/Weikl/Beirer/Ochman - 1974, Friedrich movie - DG
- Wagner: Tristan und Isolde - Nilsson/Vickers/Rundgren - 1973, Orange - Kultur
[edit] Audio Recordings of Operas (on CD)
Notes: each "?" mark refers to one unknown principal cast member; roles are listed high to low voice.
- Beethoven: Fidelio - Konetzni/Ralf/Schöffler/Alsen - 1944, live in Vienna - Andante
- Beethoven: Fidelio - Ludwig/King?/Neidlinger?/Greindl? - 1963, live in Tokyo - Legato
- Beethoven: Fidelio - Jones-G/King/Adam/Crass - 1970? - DG
- Berg: Lulu - Lear/Johnson/Grobe/Fischer-Dieskau - 1968, incomplete - DG
- Berg: Lulu - Silja/Mödl/Kmentt/Gutstein - 1968, live in Vienna, incomplete - Andante
- Berg: Wozzeck - Goltz/Klein/Lorenz/Berry/Dönch - 1955, live in Vienna - Andante
- Berg: Wozzeck - Lear/Stolze/Melchert/Fischer-Dieskau/Kohn - 1964 - DG
- Berg: Wozzeck - Silja/Melkert/Uhl/Evans/Kremmer - 1971, live in Salzburg - Opera d'Oro
- Einem: Der Prozess - della Casa/Lorenz - 1953, live in Salzburg - Orfeo
- Mozart: La clemenza di Tito - Varady/Berganza/Schreier - 1979? - DG
- Mozart: Così fan tutte - Danco/Simionato/?/?/?/? - 1949, live in Geneva - unknown label
- Mozart: Così fan tutte - Seefried/Hermann/Otto/Dermota/Kunz/Schöffler - 1954, live in Salzburg - Orfeo
- Mozart: Così fan tutte - della Casa/Ludwig/Loose/Dermota/Kunz/Schöffler - 1955 - Decca
- Mozart: Così fan tutte - Schwarzkopf/Ludwig/Sciutti/Kmentt/Dönch/Prey - 1962, live in Salzburg - Gala Records
- Mozart: Così fan tutte - Schwarzkopf/Ludwig/Steffek/Kraus/Taddei/Berry - 1962 - EMI
- Mozart: Così fan tutte - Janowitz/Fassbaender/Grist/Schreier/Prey/Panerai - 1974, live in Salzburg - DG
- Mozart: Don Giovanni - Seefried/Della Casa/Jurinac/London/Dermota/Weber/Kunz/Berry - 1955, live in Vienna - RCA
- Mozart: Don Giovanni - ?/?/?/?/?/Valdengo - 1955, live in Naples - unknown label
- Mozart: Don Giovanni - Nilsson/Arroyo/Grist/Schreier/Flagello/Fischer-Dieskau - 1967 - DG
- Mozart: Don Giovanni - Tomowa-Sintow/Zylis-Gara/Mathis/Schreier/Berry/Milnes - 1977, live in Salzburg - DG
- Mozart: Die Entführung aus dem Serail - Augér/Grist/Schreier/Neukirch/Moll - 1972? - DG
- Mozart: Idomeneo, rè di Creta - Varady/Mathis/Schreier/Ochman - 1970s - DG
- Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro - ?/?/?/Stabile/? - 1951, live in Naples - unknown label
- Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro - Streich/Jurinac/Ludwig/Berry/Schöffler - 1956 - Philips
- Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro - ?/?/?/Kunz/? - 1957, live - unknown label
- Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro - ?/?/?/Böhme/? - 1958 - unknown label
- Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro - ?/?/?/Berry/? - 1963, live in Tokyo - unknown label
- Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro - Mathis/Janowitz/Troyanos/Prey/Fischer-Dieskau - 1968 - DG 449 728-2
- Mozart: Der Schauspieldirektor - Grist/Augér/Schreier/Moll - 1970? - DG
- Mozart: Die Zauberflöte - Güden/Lipp/Simoneau/Berry/Böhme - 1955 - Decca
- Mozart: Die Zauberflöte - Lear/Peters/Wunderlich/Fischer-Dieskau/Crass - 1964? - DG
- Rossini: Il barbiere di Siviglia - Grist?/Wunderlich/Wächter - 1966, live in Vienna - Myto
- Strauss-Jhn II: Die Fledermaus - Janowitz/Holm-R/Windgassen/Kmentt/Wächter - 1972? - Decca
- Strauss-R: Arabella - Reining/della Casa/Taubmann/Hotter - 1947, live in Salzburg - DG
- Strauss-R: Ariadne auf Naxos - Reining/Noni/Seefried/Lorenz - 1944, live in Vienna - Preiser
- Strauss-R: Ariadne auf Naxos - della Casa/Güden/Seefried/Schock - 1954, live in Salzburg - DG
- Strauss-R: Ariadne auf Naxos - Ludwig/Grist/Jurinac/Thomas - 1964, live in Salzburg - Myto
- Strauss-R: Ariadne auf Naxos - Rysanek/?/?/? - 1967, live in Vienna - Melodram
- Strauss-R: Ariadne auf Naxos - Hillebrecht?/?/Troyanos/Thomas? - 1969 - DG
- Strauss-R: Capriccio - Janowitz/Troyanos/Schreier/Prey/Fischer-Dieskau/Ridderbusch - 1971 - DG
- Strauss-R: Daphne - Reining/Frutschnigg/Friedrich/Dermota/Alsen - 1944 - Preiser
- Strauss-R: Daphne - Güden/Little/King/Wunderlich/Schöffler - 1964, live in Vienna - DG
- Strauss-R: Elektra - Borkh/Schech/Madeira/Uhl/Fischer-Dieskau - 1961 - DG
- Strauss-R: Elektra - Nilsson/Rysanek/Resnik/Windgassen/Wächter - 1965, live in Vienna - SRO
- Strauss-R: Die Frau ohne Schatten - Rysanek/Goltz/Höngen/Hopf/Weber 1955, live in Vienna - Orfeo
- Strauss-R: Die Frau ohne Schatten - Rysanek/Goltz/Höngen/Hopf/Schöffler - 1955 - Decca
- Strauss-R: Die Frau ohne Schatten - Rysanek/Nilsson/Hesse/King/Berry - 1977, live in Vienna - DG
- Strauss-R: Der Rosenkavalier - Schech/?/?/? - unknown label
- Strauss-R: Der Rosenkavalier - Ludwig/Mathis/Troyanos/Adam - 1969, live in Salzburg - DG
- Strauss-R: Salome - Jones-G?/Dunn?/Cassilly/Fischer-Dieskau - 1970, live in Hamburg - DG
- Strauss-R: Salome - Rysanek?/?/Hopf?/Wächter? - 1972?, live in Vienna? - Opera d'Oro
- Strauss-R: Die schweigsame Frau - Güden/Wunderlich/Prey/Hotter - 1959, live in Salzburg - DG
- Verdi: Macbeth - Ludwig/Cossutta/Milnes/Ridderbusch - 1970, live in Vienna - Opera d'Oro
- Wagner: Der fliegende Holländer - Jones-G/Esser/Stewart/Ridderbusch - 1971, live at Bayreuth - DG
- Wagner: Lohengrin - Watson/Ludwig/Thomas/Berry/Talvela - 1965, live in Vienna - Golden Melodram
- Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg - Seefried/Seider/Schöffler/Kunz - 1944, live in Vienna - Preiser
- Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg - Jones-G/Kmentt/Adam/Helmsley - 1968, live in Bayreuth - Golden Melodram
- Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen: Das Rheingold - Silja/Burmeister/Soukupová/Windgassen/Neidlinger/Adam - 1967, live at Bayreuth - Philips
- Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen: Die Walküre - Rysanek/Nilsson/Burmeister/King/Adam/Nienstedt - 1967, live at Bayreuth - Philips
- Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen: Siegfried - Nilsson/Wohlfahrt/Windgassen/Adam/Böhme - 1967, live at Bayreuth - Philips
- Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen: Götterdämmerung - Nilsson/Mödl/Windgassen/Stewart/Greindl - 1967, live at Bayreuth - Philips
- Wagner: Tannhäuser - Tebaldi/Pery/Beirer/Tagliabue/Christoff - 1950, live in Naples - Hardy
- Wagner: Tannhäuser - Rysanek/Nilsson/Lustig/Cordes/Frick - 1956, live in Naples - Melodram
- Wagner: Tristan und Isolde - Nilsson/Windgassen/Talvela - 1966, live at Bayreuth - DG
- Weber: Der Freischütz - Janowitz/King/Holm/Ridderbusch/Crass - 1972, live in Vienna - Arkadia
[edit] Video Recordings of Orchestral Music (on DVD)
- Mozart: Late Symphonies - Vienna Philharmonic and Vienna Symphony Orchestra - 1970s - DG 073 413-0 (set of 3 DVDs)
- Mozart: Requiem - Janowitz/Ludwig/Schreier/Berry, Vienna State Opera Chorus, Vienna Symphony Orchestra - 1970s - DG 073 408-1
[edit] Audio Recordings of Orchestral Music (on CD)
- Bruckner: Symphony No. 8 - Vienna Philharmonic - 1970s - DG 463 081-2
- Haydn: Die Jahreszeiten (The Seasons) - Janowitz/Schreier/Talvela, Wiener Singverein, Wiener Symphoniker - 1960s - DG 457 713-2 (2 CDs)
- Mozart: Complete Symphonies - Berlin Philharmonic - 1950s and 1960s - DG 453 231-2 (10 CDs)
- Schubert: Complete Symphonies - Berlin Philharmonic - 1970? - DG 471 307-2 (4 CDs)
[edit] Nazi Sympathies and Anti-Semitic Views
It is believed that Böhm was an early sympathizer of the Nazi party, although he never became a member. In November 1923 he stopped a rehearsal in the Munich opera house in order, reportedly, to watch Adolf Hitler's Beer Hall Putsch.[2] In 1930 he is said to have become angry when his wife was accused by Nazi brownshirts of being Jewish during the premiere of Schoenberg's opera Von heute auf morgen and to have stated that he would "tell Hitler about this".[3] When he was music director in Darmstadt and Hamburg he allegedly complained of "too many Jews" among the musicians he worked with.[4] A more certain story is that in the wake of the Nazi annexation of Austria he gave the Hitler salute during a concert with the Vienna Philharmonic, ironically violating Nazi rules about places where the greeting was appropriate.[5] After Austrians voted to ratify the annexation, or Anschluss, the Graz-born conductor allegedly declared that "anyone who does not approve this act of our Führer with a hundred-per-cent YES does not deserve to bear the honourable name of a German!"[6]
[edit] References
- ^ Stephen Everson, "The lovable dictator". The Guardian, 25 October 2003.
- ^ Norman Lebrecht, The Maestro Myth, 109
- ^ Norman Lebrecht, The Maestro Myth, 109
- ^ Norman Lebrecht, The Maestro Myth, 109
- ^ Norman Lebrecht, The Maestro Myth, 109
- ^ Norman Lebrecht, The Maestro Myth, 109-110
[edit] External links
- Karl Böhm at the Internet Movie Database
| Preceded by Fritz Busch |
Chief Conductor, Dresden Staatskapelle 1934–1943 |
Succeeded by Karl Elmendorff |
| Preceded by Lothar Müthel |
Director, Vienna State Opera 1943–1945 |
Succeeded by Franz Salmhofer |
| Preceded by Franz Salmhofer |
Director, Vienna State Opera 1954–1956 |
Succeeded by Herbert von Karajan |
