Biography of Claudio Abbado

Magic wand

June 26, 1933
January 20, 2014
The great conductor, perhaps the largest in Italy after Toscanini, was born in Milan on June 26, 1933 from a middle class family and rich cultural stimuli. Michelangelo's father, in fact, is a talented violinist who will direct the children to rigorous, but at the same time free and playful, study of seven notes (remember that even his brother Marcello would become a musician, and then became Director of the Conservatory of Milan). This open approach and without complexes, in contrast to the tough image often associated with "classical" musicians pushed the Maestro Abbado to write, in the years of maturity, even pleasant picture books, just full of game, to bring children or adults curious to the magical world of sounds.
The young Claudio studies then composition, piano and conducting at the Conservatory of Milan, until 1955. Among his first experiences, plays and directs the String Orchestra formed by the father. Dates back to these years her connection with the city of Vienna where he goes, between the ' 56 and ' 58, as a student won two scholarships to attend the master classes of Hans Swarowski along with Zubin Mehta, whom he had met in the course of the Accademia Chigiana in Siena held by Carlo Zecchi (famous pianist and teacher). Participating with Mehta at the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde choir, can attend rehearsals of other great "demiurge", real colour palette wizards and instrumentation, meeting the gigantic names Bruno Walter (the favourite pupil of Mahler!), George Szell, Hermann Scherchen (the Apostle of new music) and Herbert von Karajan.
In 1958 he won the Koussevitzky at Tanglewood and on that occasion he was invited as a conductor of an orchestra in America, but decided to return to Europe. In ' 59 debuts in Trieste (where he will return in ' 62, with "the love for three oranges" by Prokofiev) and, in ' 99, at the helm of the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester, such as symphonic conductor.
The official debut in the great international circuit is rather dated 1960, none other than at La Scala in Milan, teatro who subsequently will see Music Director from 1968 to 1986. In this capacity, contributes in a fundamental way to widen the chronological view of theater and greatly enrich the milanese culture as a whole.
In fact, expands the Repertoire, including classics of the twentieth century then rarely performed like Berg's "Wozzeck" and "Lulu", "The Rake's Progress" and Stravinsky's "Oedipus Rex," "Moses und Aron" and Schoenberg's "Erwartung", "the miraculous Mandarin" by Bartók until most eminently close to us (not to say just written), as "the lost paradise of Penderecki," the colossal cycle "Licht" by Stockhausen , "The true story" of Berio and "Al gran sole carico d'amore" of his friend Luigi Nono.
Since 1966 the Italian Master was however already landed at the helm of the world's most prestigious orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, then strongly characterised by the imprint that the witchy happened von Karajan had them stamped (impression that translated into a great beauty and uniformity of sound and in a balance as to border on the patina). After a great work done with this real "Cadillac" of orchestras, and after trying to make a mark of his personality, in 1989 the Orchestra chose him as Chief conductor and artistic director. Since then, the music of the twentieth century is entered regularly in the programming of concerts alongside the classical and romantic repertoire.
In some ways, this is a great revolution, also in terms of sound conception, as von Karajan, on balance, rarely had driven over Schoenberg. Unforgettable, in this sense, remain certain results as those obtained with the music of Kurtag, truly amazing for those who were used to the "nuances" of the previous Director.
From 1986 to 1991, however, he was Music Director of the Vienna State Opera and Generalmusikdirektor of the city of Vienna since 1987. In 1988 he founded the Festival Wien Modern, the event began as annual music festival contemporary, then developed to include all aspects of contemporary art (cinema, theatre, poetry and so on). Note the vast and subtle cultural operation that the milanese Director pursued. The aim is to widen the scope of music, in a way that seeks to unravel the interrelationships between the latter and the other arts. Here, then, are the projects inspired by the poetry of Hölderlin, the myth of "Faust" or Greek tragedy or to the work of Shakespeare and so on. These initiatives are complemented by an excavation work which has allowed the public to accost directorial works and the films of Tarkovsky, Peter Stein and other great.
Since 1994 is also artistic director of the Salzburg Easter Festival.
Claudio Abbado has always supported young talent. He was a real philanthropic work in that sense. Also engaged in social activities and attentive to the growth and enhancement of young musicians, he founded several youth orchestras of the highest level.
In 1978 he founded the European Community Youth Orchestra, in 1981 the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and in 1986 the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester was founded in 1988 from which the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, new resident training in Ferrara. With the latter even in announcing several concerts in Cuba, with the aim of providing material and spiritual relief to that troubled land.
In 1992 gave birth to Berlin, with Natalia Gutman (cellist), at Berliner Begegnungen, appointment during which experienced musicians work with young composers. Since 1994, during the Salzburg Easter Festival, are awarded prizes for composition, the Visual Arts and literature.
The best summary of what represents Claudio Abbado have written the devoted fans of "Club Abbadiani Itineranti:" his attention to the twentieth century contributes to the spread of the viennese repertoire Schönberg, Berg, Webern and music post-Webern avant arriving at contemporary experiences. Abbado tackles the twentieth century viennese array or the experimental works of Nono no closure and preconceptions, not forgetting, then, other important aspects. In at least 20 years, contributes to the knowledge of authors like Prokofiev, Bartók, Strauss, Stravinsky, Scriabin, Hindemith, neglected or viewed with suspicion by some dogmatic thinking of experimental avant-garde.
At the same time, a new way of tackling the scores, with preparation and philological research (starting points for a free and thorough interpretation), allowed him to review in a more coherent perspective known songs of traditional repertoire and to recover pieces by authors of whom knew or appreciated only part of production (e.g. original manuscripts, executions of Schubert's Symphonies or the rediscovery of Rossini's "Viaggio a Reims"). But even in the classical and romantic repertoire, in addition to the cycles of Beethoven and Brahms are pieces by authors then still little run as Mahler and Bruckner including appear some premieres in Milan and even in Italy.
This may be due to the presence of guest conductors (sometimes at the helm of the Scala orchestra, sometimes with other formations of international prestige) of the level of Böhm, Karajan, Kleiber, Bernstein, Ozawa, Muti, Maazel, Mehta, Barenboim, Solti. Since ' 72, for his will and for the first time in the history of theatre, opens the students and workers with proposals and concessions designed to solicit a wide popular participation.
The operatic repertoire directed by Abbado at La Scala covers a broad arc that includes, in addition to the great landmarks of neglected masterpieces of tradition more or less known authors. Often the works are presented in a new critical Edition, after a careful and precise reconstruction of the score ".
Very large is also its record production, characterized by a wide variation throughout the ages. In fact, the milanese Manager does not recognize itself in the role of "specialist" now so fashionable thanks to the recovery and to the spread of philological "mentality" (whatever that expression can mean an art so ambiguous as music). Between the toes of its production are the most recent and startling Beethoven cycle made of unrecognizable Berliner, thinned in training almost from the room. Alberto Arbasino, about it wrote:
"[...] But how was that orchestra of Klemperer in the 1950s? Huge, huge; and execution was solemn, impressive, all gravitas. The light, agile and spirited Abbado instead like those of Carlos Kleiber or De Sabata. Is based (the he himself explains) about a great new critical edition; But even the organic is slender and mild as it was supposed to be in those halls Viennese early 19th century, largely existing to this day. So for us that we haven't studied music in school (and this is one of the shames of the Italian school), just check the Garzantina of music under "orchestra". And there is the layout of large modern symphony orchestra, habitual forfeitures with instruments multiplied; and in front of the orchestra "classic", typical of the times by Beethoven and readopted by Abbado. You see immediately: Cellos are few, up front, in the Middle; and not to the public right as usual. But even two flutes, two Oboes, two Clarinets (etcetera, instead of many doublings) allow a precision of heavenly soft and strong earnings of any Flash tool [...]".
Next to Beethoven (inter alia honored with another integral headed the Wiener a decade before), we must remember the integrals of works by Mahler, Mendelssohn, Schubert, Ravel and Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky, Dvorák, without forgetting the fundamental operatic recordings, mostly real awesome operations "maquillage," musical, such as to impose new concepts and new ways of understanding the work performed; among them: "Il viaggio a Reims" and "the Barber of Seville" by Rossini, "Boris Godunov" by Mussorgsky, Debussy's "Pelleas and Melisande" and so on. Recently, the master also tackled Wagner, with results as always.
During his distinguished career Abbado has received numerous awards and distinctions: in 1973 the Vienna Philharmonic have given him the Gold Medal in 1980 and Ehrenring Nicolai, always in Vienna received the Mozart and Mahler Medal and the Ehrenring der Stadt Wien. In Italy he was awarded the Grand Cross for merit in the field of music and an honorary degree from the University of Ferrara, in France the cross of the Légion d'honneur, in Germany the Ernst-von-Siemens-Musikpreis and Cambridge received an honorary degree.
Recently, German President Johannes Rau has received from the "Bundesverdienstkreuz mit Stern", the highest distinction of the Federal Republic.
Finally, Claudio Abbado broke another taboo: with genial and generous initiative has opened to the public, free of charge, recording sessions of his recordings with the Berlin Philharmonic at the Philharmonie in Berlin, always held behind closed doors.
After Berlin completed in 2003 commitments, Abbado has devoted himself intensely to the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. In may he directed a concert to celebrate the 20th anniversary in Paris by the Foundation, which runs a program dedicated to Schubert.
In 2004 promotes the birth of Mozart Orchestra in Bologna, and became Music Director and artistic. At the end of August 2013 President Giorgio Napolitano appoints Abbado Senator for life.
Sick for a long time, the master Claudio Abbado dies in Bologna on January 20, 2014 at the age of 80 years.

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