Born in Milan, Italy, Abbado was the son of the violinist and composer Michelangelo Abbado, who was his first piano teacher, and the brother of the musician Marcello Abbado. After studying piano, composition, and conducting at the Milan Conservatory, at age 16, in 1955 he studied conducting with Hans Swarowsky at the Vienna Academy of Music. He also spent time at the Chigiana Academy at Siena. In 1958 he won the international Serge Koussevitsky Competition for conductors, at the Tanglewood Music Festival, which resulted in a number of operatic conducting engagements in Italy, and in 1963 he won the Dimitri Mitropoulos Prize for conductors, allowing him to work for five months with the New York Philharmonic.
Career:
Abbado made his debut at La Scala in his hometown of Milan in 1960 and served as its music director from 1968 to 1986, conducting not only the traditional Italian repertoire but also presenting a contemporary opera each year, as well as a concert series devoted to the works of Alban Berg and Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky. He was instrumental in increasing accessibility to the working-class. He also founded the Filarmonica della Scala in 1982, for the performance of orchestral repertoire in concert.
Abbado conducted the Vienna Philharmonic for the first time in 1965 in a concert at the Salzburg Festival, and became the principal conductor in 1971. He served as music director and conductor for the Vienna State Opera from 1986 to 1991, with notable productions such as Mussorgsky's original Boris Godunov and his seldom-heard Khovanshchina, Franz Schubert's Fierrabras, and Gioacchino Rossini's Il viaggio a Reims.
In 1965, Abbado made his British debut at the Hallé Orchestra, followed, in 1966, by his London Symphony Orchestra debut. He continued to conduct on a regular basis with the London orchestra, until 1979. From 1979 to 1988 he became the principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, and from 1982 to 1986 he was principal guest conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. With both orchestras, Abbado made recordings for Deutsche Grammophon, Decca and Sony.
Berlin Philharmonic:
In 1989, the Berlin Philharmonic elected Abbado as their chief conductor, to succeed Herbert von Karajan. In 1998, he announced that he would be leaving the Berlin Philharmonic after the expiry of his contract in 2002.. Aside from the major institutions he directed, Abbado was often happiest with orchestras of his own creation - the European Union Youth Orchestra, Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra and the Orchestra Mozart.
Abbado was diagnosed with stomach cancer in 2000 and the treatment led to the removal of a portion of his digestive system. In 2004 he returned to conduct the Berlin Philharmonic and performed Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 6 in a series of recorded live concerts. The resulting CD won Best Orchestral Recording and Record of the Year in Gramophone Magazine's 2006 awards. The Orchestra Academy of the Berlin Philharmonic established the Claudio Abbado Composition Prize in 2006 in his honour.
Post-Berlin work:
After recovering from cancer, Abbado formed the Lucerne Festival Orchestra in 2003, whose concerts were highly acclaimed. He also served as music director of the Orchestra Mozart of Bologna, Italy.
In September 2007, Abbado announced that he was cancelling all of his forthcoming conducting engagements for the "near future" on the advice of his physicians but two months later he resumed conducting with an engagement in Bologna. In July 2011, aged 78, he declared himself to be in good health.
Musical style
Abbado performed and recorded a wide range of Romantic works, in particular Gustav Mahler, whose symphonies he recorded several times. He was also noted for his interpretations of modern works by composers such as Arnold Schönberg, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Giacomo Manzoni, Luigi Nono, Bruno Maderna, Thomas Adler, Giovanni Sollima, Roberto Carnevale, Franco Donatoni and George Benjamin.
Abbado desired to become a conductor for the first time as a child, when he heard a performance of Claude Debussy's Nocturnes. He had the opportunity to attend many orchestral rehearsals in Milan led by such conductors as Arturo Toscanini and Wilhelm Furtwängler and told interviewers that Toscanini's tyrannical and sometimes abusive manner towards musicians in rehearsal repelled him, and that he resolved to behave in the gentler manner of Bruno Walter. Abbado was known to exhibit a friendly, understated, and non-confrontational manner in rehearsal.
In 1988, Abbado founded the music festival Wien Modern, which has since expanded to include all aspects of contemporary art. This interdisciplinary festival took place each year under his direction.
Abbado was also well known for his work with young musicians. He was founder and music director of the European Union Youth Orchestra (1978) and the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester (1986). He was also a frequent guest conductor with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe with whom he recorded a cycle of Franz Schubert symphonies to considerable acclaim. More recently, he worked with the Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar of Venezuela. He was also known for his Germanic orchestral repertory as well as his interest in the music of Gioacchino Rossini and Giuseppe Verdi.
Awards
Abbado received many awards and recognitions including the Grand cross of the Légion d'honneur, Bundesverdienstkreuz, Imperial Prize of Japan, Mahler Medal, Khytera Prize, and honorary doctorates from the universities of Ferrara, Cambridge, Aberdeen, and Havana.
In 1973, Abbado won the Mozart Medal awarded by Mozartgemeinde Wien, and the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize in 1994.
Abbado received the 1997 Grammy Award in the Best Small Ensemble Performance (with or without conductor) category for "Hindemith: Kammermusik No. 1 With Finale 1921, Op. 24 No. 1" and the 2005 Grammy Award in the Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with Orchestra) category for "Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 2 & 3" performed by Martha Argerich.
In April 2012, Abbado was voted into the Gramophone Hall of Fame, and in May of the same year, he was awarded the conductor prize at the Royal Philharmonic Society Music Awards.
On 30 August 2013, Abbado was appointed to the Italian Senate as a Senator for life by President Giorgio Napolitano for his "outstanding cultural achievements".
Personal life
Abbado's son is the opera director Daniele Abbado. From his relationship with the violinist Viktoria Mullova, he was the father of her oldest child, Misha. His nephew, Roberto Abbado (the son of his brother Marcello, born 1926, who is a composer and pianist), is also a conductor.
Abbado died in Bologna on 20 January 2014.
1812 Overture Op.49
Claudio Abbado Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oh yeah! Underneath that tree, there's just gonna be you and me
Under that apple suckling tree, oh yeah
Old man sailin' in a dinghy boat
Down there
Old man sailin' in a dinghy boat
On there
Gonna pull man into the suckling brook
Oh yeah
Now, he's underneath that apple suckling tree
Oh yeah
Under that apple suckling tree
Oh yeah
That's underneath that tree
There's gonna be just you and me
Underneath that apple suckling tree
I push him back and I stand in line
Oh yeah
Then I hush my Sadie and stand in line
Oh yeah
Then I hush my Sadie and stand in line
I get on board in two-eyed time
Oh yeah
Now, who's on the table, who's tell me?
Oh yeah
Who's on the table, who's tell me?
Oh yeah
Who should I tell, oh, who should I tell?
The forty-nine of you like bats out of hell
Oh, underneath that old apple suckling tree
The lyrics of this song are quite enigmatic, and their meaning is not immediately apparent. However, there are a few things we can glean from the imagery presented. The repeated refrain of "underneath that apple suckling tree" seems to suggest a sense of longing or desire for a place of comfort and intimacy. The image of an old man sailing in a dinghy boat, and the lines about pulling a man into a suckling brook, create a slightly sinister undertone, hinting at violence or danger. The mention of standing in line and getting on board suggests a journey or a voyage, but it's not clear what this journey represents.
One possible interpretation of these lyrics is that they are describing a search for escape from something. The apple suckling tree may be a symbol of home or safety, and the image of someone being pulled into a brook could represent a kind of baptism or rebirth. The journey on a boat could represent a physical or spiritual voyage towards a new beginning. The repeated "oh yeahs" throughout the song create a sense of urgency or excitement, as if the singer is on the brink of a new adventure.
Line by Line Meaning
Under that apple suckling tree, oh yeah, under that apple suckling tree
Excitedly anticipating a rendezvous with a lover under the apple tree
Old man sailin' in a dinghy boat
An older man sailing a small boat
Down there
Nearby, in the vicinity
Gonna pull man down on a suckling hook
Intending to lure a man into a trap
Gonna pull man into the suckling brook
Planning to bring the man to a nearby brook
Now, he's underneath that apple suckling tree
The man has fallen into the trap and is now under the apple tree
That's underneath that tree
Referring to the same apple tree as before
There's gonna be just you and me
Expressing excitement at the prospect of being alone with the lover
I push him back and I stand in line
Taking control of the situation and positioning oneself for intimacy
Then I hush my Sadie and stand in line
Quieting any potential distractions and focusing on the moment
I get on board in two-eyed time
Joining the lover in a physical embrace
Now, who's on the table, who's tell me?
Asking who is ready to engage in intimacy
Who should I tell, oh, who should I tell?
Wondering who else needs to know about the affair
The forty-nine of you like bats out of hell
Implying that many others are also engaging in similar activities
Underneath that old apple suckling tree
Emphasizing the importance and intimacy of the setting
Contributed by Eliana A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Stephen Messick
The best performance I've ever heard. Claudio RIP you are my hero.
Ljiljana Stanić
Adore this Overture...wonderful performance!
glenn hubble
1 great piece of Music
Angelo Di Marzo
Claudio Abbado mi riaccomuna col compianto tchaikovsky per il suo s... anche se per altri motivi .
mfjardim
An almost perfect performance; I think Daniel Baremboim's is better. It's a matter of time.
Dilfredo Ruiz
This masterpiece represents the triumph of christian values over agnostic freemasonry ideology. the Bells at the end represents the God's voice.
TheLastOfTheFinest80
Goddamn, you are so correct.