This week on the Gramophone website we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first release in Karajan's landmark project with the Berlin Philharmonic and Deutsche Grammophon, recording Wagner's Ring cycle. Karajan intended to produce a complete filmed version of The Ring too, but concluded that it wasn't financially viable after the completion of the film of Das Rheingold, which featured many of the singers that were used on the audio recording. 

Karajan's filmed version of Das Rheingold is part of the substantial archive available to subscribers of the Berlin Philharmonic's Digital Concert Hall and the Berlin Philharmonic have kindly offered our readers an opportunity to make use of the Digital Concert Hall free-of-charge for seven days. All you have to do is visit the DCH website here: digitalconcerthall.com/tickets, and enter the following voucher code: WAGNER78X

The code will give you free access to the Digital Concert Hall for seven days and can be redeemed until June 30. After you've redeemed the code, you will be able to watch Das Rheingold here: digitalconcerthall.com/en/film/223.

The Das Rheingold film is one of many featuring Karajan as conductor in the Digital Concert Hall archive. Other special recordings include Beethoven's Missa solemnis from 1979, Brahms's German Requiem (featuring Gundula Janowitz and José van Dam) from 1978, and Tchaikovsky's Symphonies Nos 4-6 from 1973. And there is much more to explore besides!