. . . simply untouchable in the art of conducting . . .
[477 4152]: Here is 'the Karajan sound' in full cry, blending weight and drama with momentum and exquisite shading.
[477 4352]: Karajan championed this work as a profound statement on World War II, and endows it with the utmost intensity.
[477 4222]: Karajan's sumptuous yet flowing treatment of this score is a perfect foil to the rich purity of Janowitz's singing.
[474 5372]: Recorded live, this account offers blends of calculation and spontaneity, sweep and detail: Karajan's most expressive Mahler performance.
[476 1654]: Another live recording endows the monumental scope typical of Karajan's Bruckner with a sense of humanity that is enormously moving.

[Gundula Janowitz's] voice is so pure and wonderful and her expression is so heartfelt.

Even among the remarkable number of first-rate recordings of Richard Strauss's "Four last songs" currently in the catalogue Gundula Janowitz still excels. Her performance is wistful and nostalgic, of course, but Janowitz also bewitches and enchants like no other as she interweaves her soprano line around Karajan's sublimely paced and immaculately played orchestral accompaniment.

Die letzten Dinge als erste philharmonische Tugend. Karajan macht die Auseinandersetzung mit dem Sterben und dessen Weiterungen zu einem besonderen Erlebnis.