Herbert von Karajan is regarded as one of the greatest conductors of all time. He was the principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 35 years and, under Karajan, the orchestra developed their very own performance culture characterized by a beauty of sound, virtuosity, and perfection. Karajan turned the Berlin Philharmonic into perhaps the most impressive sounding orchestra ever. He aimed to merge the best qualities of his idols, Wilhelm Furtwängler and Arturo Toscanini, particularly their precision and elasticity, into his own style. He is the biggest selling classical artist in recorded music history and has sold over 200 million records. Karajan's legendary discography contains some of the most valued interpretations of the repertoire available.

Karajan recorded the Complete Symphonies of Ludwig van Beethoven numerous times, but his first recording in 1963 with the Berlin Philharmonic was artistically the most radical and commercially the most successful. Nearly six decades on from its original launch, it remains the best-selling Beethoven cycle of all time. Critics and audiences were enthused above all by the beauty of the music and by the fierce sense of joy which reached its apogee in an eloquent account of the finale of the epic Ninth Symphony.