Claudio Abbado 1933 - 2014

[whipped guy]

I just learned of the passing of the respected Italian Maestro who had an illustrious career not only in the world of opera, but the symphonic repertory as well. Indeed I first knew him via his recording of Beethoven's Seventh Symphony which exhibited the clean cut classical approach revealing inner voices that characterized much of his work... an approach that served the operas of Rossini and Verdi quie well.

 

Recent photos of him seemed to indicate that he was not well. He will be missed.

[+ g56whiz]

Agreed. http://nyti.ms/1dMiWK2 NYTimes: Claudio Abbado, a Conductor With Global Reach, Dies at 80

[AdamSmith]

Nice coverage by The Guardian:

 

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/jan/20/claudio-abbado-italian-conductor-dies

 

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/jan/20/simon-rattle-claudio-abbado-tribute

 

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/jan/20/claudio-abbado

 

http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2014/jan/20/claudio-abbado-best-recordings

 

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/aug/08/life-in-music-claudio-abbado

[Bargara Leatherboy]

Vale. His memory will live on in his contribution to music

[whipped guy]

One more thought...

 

When I think of Abbado I not only think of the fact that he was not only one of the first confuctors to champion the research into the critical editions of the operas of Rossini, but also his involvement with the works of Gustave Mahler... I specifically recall that he spent an entire summer studying the various completions of Mahler's unfinished Tenth Symphony. Such diversity... and such a commitment to authenticity were only two of the hallmarks of his greatness.

[whipped guy]

As an addendum to my above post I failed to mention that after studying the various completions of the Mahler Tenth Abbado chose to perform and record only the opening Adagio movement that Mahler had completed. I respect him for this decision even though I find the work as realized by Deryck Cooke and others to be quite fascinating. While I am certainly not an expert on Mahler... and he is far from being my favorite composer... I did spend an afternoon many years ago listening to the Tenth while following along with the score of Cooke's final completion from 1976. While I thought that he did a good job making sense of Mahler's often sketchy indications, I would never consider it to be the last word... or authentic. Obviously Maestro Abbado felt the same way... and obviously also rejected other completions as well.

[uwsman2]

He was a brilliant conductor, beloved by his orchestras by all accounts because of his gentle nature. To be selected by him for one of his special orchestras, like the Gustav Mahler Chamber Orchestra, was considered a rare honor and compliment. The Berlin Philharmonic members select their music director, and he was their choice after von Karajan. This was very controversial, the first time the orchestra itself chose somebody from a non-Germanic culture to be their music director, but it was a startlingly good combination. I only saw him conduct once, but treasure many of his recordings. Although he had been very ill for a long time, with cancer that came and went and finally came irrevocably, he soldiered through and continued to produce inspired performances. It's a shame we won't have a golden decade of the 80s from him.