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Herbert von Karajan Quotes

Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 35 years. Generally regarded as one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, he was a dominant figure in European classical music from the mid-1950s until his death. Part of the reason for this was the large number of recordings he made and their prominence during his lifetime. By one estimate he was the top-selling classical music recording artist of all time, having sold an estimated 200 million records. Wikipedia  

✵ 5. April 1908 – 16. July 1989
Herbert von Karajan photo
Herbert von Karajan: 3 quotes1 like

Famous Herbert von Karajan Quotes

“If I tell the Berliners to step forward, they do it. If I tell the Viennese to step forward, they do it, but then they ask why.”

Herbert von Karajan

On why he preferred conducting the Berlin Philharmonic to the Vienna Philharmonic
Herbert von Karajan in Brian Moynahan, 'Funeral in Berlin', The Sunday Times, 30 January 1983, quoted in Norman Lebrecht, The Book of Musical Anecdotes.

“Those who have achieved all their aims probably set them too low.”

Herbert von Karajan

Die 7 Geheimnisse der Dirigenten-Legende in Bild, 4. April 2008

“A New York City taxi driver asked him where to go; Karajan replied "No matter - I am in demand everywhere."”

Herbert von Karajan

Apocryphal; see New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/1989/07/17/obituaries/herbert-von-karajan-is-dead-musical-perfectionist-was-81.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm

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