(Credit: Karajan Archiv)

Eliette von Karajan, the widow of a celebrated conductor Herbert von Karajan, has handed over her board responsibilities at the Herbert von Karajan Easter Festival Salzburg Foundation to her two daughters Isabel and Arabel Karajan in January, according to the official press release.

However, Eliette von Karajan remains honorary President of the Foundation for the Promotion of the Salzburg Easter Festival that was founded by Herbert von Karajan in 1969.

The foundation’s board of directors will consist of Arabel Karajan, Isabel Karajan, Karl-Ludwig Vavrovsky, and Matthias Röder. Arabel and Isabel Karajan will ensure that the Foundation will continue to consistently pursue its tasks in the spirit of the famed conductor.

Born in Salzburg in 1908, Karajan first conducted the Berliner Philharmoniker in 1938 and from 1955 to 1989 he had served as its Chief Conductor. From 1948 to 1964, Karajan was also the Concert Director of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna and from 1957 to 1964 he was Artistic Director of the Vienna State Opera.

The iconic conductor founded the Salzburg Easter Festival in 1967.