Карл Бём: Австриялық дирижердің өмірі мен шығармашылығы

Austrian conductor (1894–1981)

Karl August Leopold Böhm (28 August 1894 – 14 August 1981) was an Austrian conductor. He was best known for his performances of the music of Mozart, Wagner, and Richard Strauss.

Karl Böhm was born in Graz. The son of a lawyer, he studied law and earned a doctorate in this subject before entering the music conservatory in his home town of Graz, Austria. In 1927 he was appointed as chief musical director in Darmstadt. In 1931 he was appointed to the same post at the Hamburg State Opera, a position he held until 1934. but Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians praises Böhm 's Bayreuth performances for "finely display[ing] his qualities". The Times took a middle view, finding his Wagner "light and positive" but "somewhat reluctant to let the drama find its full weight and depth". Several recordings were made with the orchestra for Deutsche Grammophon. Böhm was given the title of LSO President, which he held until his death. He twice conducted at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in the 1970s: Le nozze di Figaro in 1977 and Così fan tutte in 1979.

Böhm died in Salzburg, at age 86. He conducted the premieres of Strauss's late works Die schweigsame Frau (1935) and Daphne (1938), of which he is the dedicatee, recorded all the major operas (but often made cuts to the scores), and regularly revived Strauss's operas with strong casts during his tenures in Vienna and Dresden, as well as at the Salzburg Festival. Böhm was praised for his rhythmically robust interpretations of the operas and symphonies of Mozart, and in the 1960s he was entrusted with recording all the Mozart symphonies with the Berlin Philharmonic. His brisk, straightforward approach to Wagner won adherents, as did his readings of the symphonies of Brahms, Bruckner, and Schubert. His complete recordings of the Beethoven symphonies with the Vienna Philharmonic in 1971 was also highly regarded. On a less common front, he championed and recorded Alban Berg's avant garde operas Wozzeck and Lulu before they gained a foothold in the standard repertory. Böhm mentioned in the notes to his recordings of these works that he and Berg discussed the orchestrations, leading to changes in the score (as he had similarly done, previously, with Richard Strauss). He was described by one critic as one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century. Grove says of him:

Böhm's awards include: 1943: War Merit Cross, 2nd class without swords (Kriegsverdienstkreuz II. Klasse ohne Schwerter); 1959: Grand Decoration of Honour in Silver for Services to the Republic of Austria; 1960: Grand Merit Cross of the Federal Republic of Germany (Großes Verdienstkreuz); 1964: Honorary Ring of Vienna; 1967: Berlin Art Prize; 1970: Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art; 1976: Commander of the Legion of Honour; Honorary Ring of Styria; and 2012: Gramophone Magazine Hall of Fame