Herbert von Karajan

Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, with the Vienna Philharmonic, the Berlin Philharmonic, and during World War II he conducted at the Berlin State Opera. Generally regarded as one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, he was a controversial but dominant figure in European classical music from the mid-1950s until his death. Part of the reason for this was the large number of recordings he made and their prominence during his lifetime. By one estimate, he was the top-selling classical music recording artist of all time, having sold an estimated 200 million records.

5 April 1908

Born on the same birth date (5 April 1908): Bette Davis • Jagjivan Ram • Kurt Neumann (director)

Born on the same birth day (5 April): Alexey Volkov (biathlete) • Antoni Clavé • Friedrich Sigmund Merkel • Jan Smeets • Peter Grant (music manager)

Born in the same month (April 1908): Buddy Ebsen • Eden ahbez • Edward R. Murrow • Eve Arden • Frank Robert Miller • Inga Gentzel • Jack Williamson • Leo Rosten • Lita Grey • Masaru Ibuka • Myron Waldman • Percy Faith • Peter Zaremba (athlete) • Ray Ventura