Herbert von Karajan

‘Herbert von Karajan had phenomenally dazzling blue eyes and, from what I understand, if he looked at you, you immediately felt a vivid connection. He would play around with that and not look at anybody, but invite the orchestra to do something very internal.

‘There’s a recording of him doing Strauss’s Metamorphosen where he only looks up once, at the Beethoven quote. The rest of the time he is looking down with his eyes shut. When young conductors try to do that, it often looks as if they are leaving the musicians to fend for themselves while they indulge in a very personal thing. That’s different from closing your eyes for a wonderful moment. Karajan was working in a very particular way.’

Sian Edwards