Claudio Abbado
One of the top conductors of the 20th century, Claudio Abbado left an enormous recording catalog covering a wide range of composers from the Classical era to the early modern period. He was chief conductor and artistic director of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra from 1989 to 2002.
Abbado was born in Milan, Italy, on June 26, 1933, into an old family that traced its roots to Moorish-era Spain. His father, Michelangelo Abbado, was a prominent violinist and a professor at the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory, and his mother, Maria Carmela Savagnone, was a skilled pianist. Abbado and his brother Marcello, who also became a pianist and composer, had their first lessons from their father. Their careers were interrupted by the Nazi occupation of Milan during World War II; Abbado's mother was arrested for giving refuge to a Jewish child, and the young Claudio became a confirmed anti-fascist who scrawled "Viva Bartók" on a wall and triggered an unsuccessful manhunt. He enthusiastically attended performances at Milan's La Scala opera house and, when he could, orchestral rehearsals led by the likes of Arturo Toscanini and Wilhelm Furtwängler.
Abbado went on to the Milan Conservatory, graduating in 1955 as a pianist. He also studied conducting with Antonio Votto. He then moved to Vienna, studying piano with Friedrich Gulda and conducting with Hans Swarowsky at the Vienna Academy of Music. He and his classmate Zubin Mehta joined the school's chorus so that they could observe the conducting technique of such legends as Bruno Walter and Herbert von Karajan. After more classes at the Chigiana Academy in Siena, Italy, he made his debut as a conductor in Trieste, leading a performance of Prokofiev's Love for Three Oranges. In the summer of 1958, Abbado had a major breakthrough when he won the Koussevitzky Conducting Competition at the Tanglewood Festival in Massachusetts. That led to various European conducting engagements and, in 1960, to a conducting debut at La Scala.
Advancement in the Western hemisphere came in 1963 when Abbado was awarded the Dmitri Mitropoulos Prize. That came with the chance to conduct the New York Philharmonic for five months. In 1965, Abbado conducted the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra for the first time at Austria's Salzburg Festival. In the late '60s, he conducted several productions at La Scala, and in 1971, he was named the company's music director. He raised the opera orchestra's standards and formed it into an independent Orchestra della Scala, which often performed contemporary works. Abbado also became principal conductor of the Vienna Philharmonic in 1971, and he also began to appear frequently with the London Symphony Orchestra, becoming its principal conductor in 1979 and later its music director. His recording career stretched far back into the LP era; with the London Symphony, he made a notable early recording in 1972 of Rossini's opera La Cenerentola. Abbado also found time to conduct the European Community Youth Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, and the Gustav Mahler Youth Chamber Orchestra, and he mentored many young musicians.
Abbado served as principal guest conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from 1982 to 1986. He was then appointed music director of the Vienna State Opera, and he also held the post of general music director for the city of Vienna. In 1988, he established the Wien Modern music festival, which flourished and now encompasses other media in addition to music. In 1989, Abbado succeeded von Karajan as music director of the Berlin Philharmonic, remaining in that post until 2002. He gave up his Vienna State Opera post in 1991 but remained active in Vienna. Abbado made recordings with all the major orchestras with which he was associated, and he was prolific even by the standards of the 20th century classical recording golden age. After his death, reissues of his recordings continued to appear, and by the early 2020s, his catalog comprised well over 500 items. Deeply thoughtful in his approach, Abbado was an expert in a wide variety of music, from Mozart to Iannis Xenakis. He often conducted from memory. Abbado cut back his pace after a bout with cancer in 2000 but continued to perform and record, often leading youth orchestras. He died in Bologna, Italy, on January 20, 2014.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 1 In C, Op.21 & 4 In B Flat, Op.60 (Live)
Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Claudio Abbado
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan 1, 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven in Berlin: The New Year's Eve Concert 1991
Berliner Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan 1, 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Prokofiev: Lieutenant Kijé; Stone Flower; Prodigal Son; Scythian Suite, &c.
Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet, London Symphony Orchestra, Claudio Abbado, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Antal Doráti
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan 1, 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Early Recordings (Cambini, Bach, Tartini)
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Aug 30, 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven, Schoenberg, Stravinsky & Others: Works for Orchestra (Live)
European Community Youth Orchestra, Maximilian Schell, Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester, Claudio Abbado, Vienna Youth Choir
Classical - Released by Orfeo on Nov 11, 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos.20, K. 466 & Nos. 21, K 467
Rudolf Serkin, London Symphony Orchestra, Claudio Abbado
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan 1, 1983
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Symphonies Nos. 28, 29 & 35
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on Jan 1, 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A Bizet Weekend
Claudio Abbado, Myung-Whun Chung
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan 1, 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Weil & Hindemith
Classical - Released by Universal Music Italia srL. on Jan 1, 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Concert de la Saint-Silvestre 1992
Symphonic Music - Released by Sony Classical on Mar 19, 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Kurtág: Grabstein für Stephan, Op. 15; Stele, Op. 33 / Stockhausen: Gruppen
Berliner Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan 1, 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos.16 & 20
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan 1, 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 15 - Liszt: Totentanz, S. 126 (Live)
Dino Ciani, Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI di Roma, Claudio Abbado, Armando La Rosa Parodi
Classical - Released by Stradivarius on Jul 12, 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi: Aida (International Version)
Classical - Released by Universal Music Group International on Jan 1, 1982
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Claudio Abbado, Vol. 1: Bruckner & Haydn (Live)
Classical - Released by DOREMI on Sep 18, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schoenberg: Gurrelieder
Classical - Released by Universal Music Australia Pty. Ltd. on Jan 1, 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi: Don Carlo
Claudio Abbado, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra
Opera - Released by Nar Classical on Mar 5, 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ravel: Tzigane - Lalo: Symphonie espagnole - Franck: Violin Sonata in A Major
Franco Gulli, Orchestra del Teatro Lirico Giuseppe Verdi di Trieste, Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI di Torino, Enrica Cavallo, Claudio Abbado, Ferdinand Leitner
Classical - Released by IDIS on Jun 3, 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ravel Weekend
Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa, Claudio Abbado
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan 25, 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi: Don Carlo, Il Trovatore, La Forza Del Destino, Macbeth (Remaster)
Claudio Abbado, Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano, Piero Cappuccilli
Opera - Released by Nar Classical on Mar 1, 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Abbado conducts Brahms, Rachmaninoff & Tchaikovsky
Claudio Abbado, Johannes Brahms
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on May 14, 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo