Herbert von Karajan was one of the most renowned conductors of his generation, but he started his career as a pianist and returned to the keyboard from time to time in later years. He was especially fond of playing harpsichord in performances of Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos. With two younger colleagues – Christoph Eschenbach and Justus Frantz – he also made a specialty of Mozart’s Concerto for Three Pianos and Orchestra. In this performance recorded in 1971 Eschenbach took the first part, Frantz the second and Karajan the third. At the time both Eschenbach and Frantz had major careers as soloists but both now spend more time conducting. This performance dates from the brief period when Karajan was conductor of the Orchestre de Paris and that is the ensemble featured in this video.
Paul E. Robinson
