Herbert von Karajan's early recordings of
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Requiem in D minor were made with the
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, but for his 1986 digital recording, he turned to the
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and the
Wiener Singverein for his last big reading of the Süssmayr completion. Some may regard this interpretation as grandiose and excessively operatic in style, while others will find it reverent and moving. But most will agree that
Karajan's approach avoids any textual modifications from period scholarship and must be considered a conventional, mainstream reading, especially since
Karajan's interpretation is much more Romantic, expansive, and sentimental than those of his contemporaries. Deutsche Grammophon's sound is big and spacious, but it makes the orchestra seem muddy.