by Norman Lebrecht
One of our readers makes a pilgrimage to Herbert von Karajan’s (1908 - 1989) grave at Anif whenever he visits Salzburg.
This is the shocking sight that greeted him yesterday.
The 20th century’s wealthiest and most powerful conductor lies in utter neglect.
The elite Easter Festival he founded should do something about it.
Karajan was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic or 34 years.
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| Herbert von Karajan in 1977 |
Grave now restored:
It was pleasing to find that the parish authorities in Anif were prompted to finish months of slow restoration work on the grave of Herbert von Karajan just in time for the Easter holidays.
Less known is the proximity to Karajan’s grave of the former Sony chairman Norio Ohga (1930 - 2011), who was visiting the conductor at the time of his death and considered himself a close friend.
In 1959, Ohga joined Sony Corporation, persuaded by colleagues Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita, and for a while pursued two careers as a Sony employee by day and a musician at night.
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| Sony president (from 1989) and CEO (from 1995) Norio Ohga |
He promoted digitalization of recording media, and with the support of Mr. Karajan, whom he closely befriended while in Germany, succeeded in launching the Compact Disc (CD) as a product. He also played the main role in promoting it. He became President of Sony in 1989, and CEO in 1995.
Sony will doubtless be keeping an eye on further maintenance work at Anif.
Information courtesy Slippedisc and Tokyo Philharmonic
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