Claudio Abbado, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI (Italian: [ˈklaudjo abˈbaːdo];… Read Full Bio ↴Claudio Abbado, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI (Italian: [ˈklaudjo abˈbaːdo]; 26 June 1933 – 20 January 2014) was an Italian conductor. He served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, principal guest conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, music director of the Vienna State Opera, and principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra from 1989 to 2002. He was made a Senator for life in the Senate of Italy in 2013.
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.
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.
Saint John's Night on the Bare Mountain
Claudio Abbado Lyrics
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1812 Overture Op.49 Under that apple suckling tree, oh yeah, under that apple…
Overture Captain Walker Didn't come home His unborn child Will nev…
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Antonio Rioseco
Rimsky Korsakov's orchestral version is fantastic but this original concept of a work several times reworked by the composer, is absolute amazing!!
ℳ𝓇 𝒫𝓇𝒶𝑔𝓊𝑒 ℳ𝒶𝓃
Prefiro a verção original
M3B Muad'Dib
I agree. Yet, since I discovered this particular version of the work, I think that what Rimsky did is unforgivable.
James Mayhew
@M3B Muad'Dib Why unforgivable? He didn't destroy the original score! He merely tried to revive interest in his (dead) friend's unperformed music - and abandoned his own compositions to do so. I think what Rimsky-Korsakov did was a huge act of generosity. The music heard here is also an arrangement. Mussorgsky never orchestrated his "third version" .
M3B Muad'Dib
@James Mayhew That is not how I see It. From what I have read, Rimsky was not close to him at the time of his death. He had moved into a prestigious position at the Conservatory and was ashamed of his "amateur" past. Of which Mussorgsky was a big part (they even lived together if I remember correctly). He saw Mussorgsky's compositions (and probably Mussorgsky himself) as flawed, and tried to correct them, more than give them visibility. I also think that you are wrong about the orchestration here. I should check, but I think the orchestration here is originally from Mussorgsky and was intended for his third opera (Fair at Soroschinsky).
James Mayhew
@M3B Muad'Dib As I understand it, this third version wasn't completed and exists in piano score only There are several orchestrations. This is the Shebalin version - if you listen to his edition of Sorotchinsky Fair you will hear it is identical. Mussorgsky only orchestrated the first version (St john's Night), which is markedly different and doesn't feature the "dawn" coda, and a second version (for "Mlada") which is lost. So I think you do Rimsky-Korsakov an injustice. Yes, he did indeed try to "correct" the music, according to current fashion (ie, audiences in 1880, were not interested in Mussorgsky's music, so he had to do something to get it performed). I agree he moved away from the "mighty handful" to an extent, BUT R-K destroyed nothing - and he even said that should there come a time when the originals are preferred, he was happy for his versions to become neglected, as Mussorgsky's version had been. As you say, they once lived together; R-K witnessed Mussorgsky's frustration at his poor technique as a composer. People seem obsessed about Rimsky-Korsakov's "adjustments" but no one comments on Ravel's "Pictures" (which even R-K left alone!), or any of the many other arrangements (some appalling). I do feel the "received wisdom" on R-K is wrong. He was a man of real integrity, and sought to do what he thought was the "right thing" by his old friend, and at a time (150 years ago) when music fashions were different to now, and when theatres and opera houses censored and refused works that they didn't "get". "My Music Life" is a useful read (by R-K himself). Indeed I sometimes wonder if Mussorgsky would be quite as fascinating if we didn't have the R-K versions to compare with...
kira64
Holy shit this sounds tens times more epic with a choir!
Dadadadáaan
And the original orchestration and harmony
Hue Hue
a voice is much better to give emotion to a music, this is valid from justin bieber to mozart.
emilianoturazzi
@Hue Hue this is valid just in your opinion