Herbert von Karajan

No conductor has built a collection of sound and image recordings of himself as consciously as Herbert von Karajan (1908-1989). He combined a great lust for power and a tendency for self-glorification with a flawless instinct for bringing the orchestral sound to perfection, and he turned the Berliner Philharmoniker, already a renowned ensemble when he was appointed chief conductor in 1955, into an absolute top orchestra. Von Karajan’s recordings are exemplary in their perfection; however, in the last years, the pursuit of orchestral muscle flexing came at the expense of the musical argument. His best and sometimes unrivalled recordings date from the years 1950-1980.
(Source: Muziekweb.nl)