Verdi: Overtures and Preludes

Karajan was one of the most adaptable and sensitive of dramatic conductors. His repertoire in the theatre was extraordinarily wide, and he was at home equally in Verdi, Wagner, Richard Strauss and Puccini. In this celebrated 1975 collection of Verdi’s overtures, he gives us some fine insights into the composer’s skill as an orchestrator, dramatist and poet.

Though Karajan had only recorded Aida complete, his dramatic instincts bring some fine performances of the lesser-known preludes. The earliest, Nabucco from 1842 (the collection is arranged chronologically), already shows a master craftsman at work, with a slow introduction promising much. La traviata shows a quite different skill – the delicate creation of a sensitive poet working in filigree. The final four preludes are great works fully worthy of this individual presentation. Even the lesser-known preludes are enhanced by Karajan’s dramatic instincts. Good recordings, though less than outstanding.