ABSTRACT
Austrian conductor, born in Salzburg. He studied piano at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, then conducted in Vienna, making his debut there on 17 Dec 1928. Engagements in Ulm and Aachen followed, then important performances at the Vienna State Opera (1936), and the Berlin State Opera-in particular an acclaimed Tristan in 1937. Karajan was at La Scala in 1938, and was on his way to international stardom. His rise was interrupted by cloudy wartime experiences and politics, but by 1948 he was safely on his way once more, appointed to the directorship of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra (where he worked to 1960). La Scala made him music director in 1950, and he also was music director of the Philharmonia Orchestra of London. His final great appointment came in 1954, as music director of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, where he remained until the year of his death. He also conducted at the Metropolitan Opera (1967), and in most of the world’s leading concert halls and opera houses, gaining recognition as one of the finest conductors of the century. He died in Anif, Austria.
