Herbert von Karajan's post-war debut with Deutsche Grammophon was this classic 1959 recording of Ein Heldenleben, coupled here with a sizzling account of Till Eulenspiegel from 1972/73. Apart from Karajan himself, one of its stars was violinist Michel Schwalbé, who became the orchestral leader of the Berliner Philharmoniker in 1957.  According to Gramophone critic Deryck Cooke, Karajan's performance has a fire and sweeping breadth which results, "surprisingly, not in bombast but in true nobility."