Claudio Abbado (Claudio Abbado) |

Claudio Abbado

Italian conductor, pianist. Son of famous violinist Michelangelo Abbado. Graduated from the Conservatory. Verdi in Milan, improved at the Vienna Academy of Music and Performing Arts. In 1958 he won the competition. Koussevitzky, in 1963 – 1st prize at the International Competition for Young Conductors. D. Mitropoulos in New York, which gave him the opportunity to work for 5 months with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. He made his operatic debut in 1965 at the Salzburg Festival (The Barber of Seville). Since 1969 he was a conductor, from 1971 to 1986 he was musical director of La Scala (in 1977-79 he was artistic director). Among the productions at the theater “Capulets and Montecchi” by Bellini (1967), “Simon Boccanegra” by Verdi (1971), “Italian in Algiers” by Rossini (1974), “Macbeth” (1975). Toured with La Scala in the USSR in 1974. In 1982 he founded and directed the La Scala Philharmonic Orchestra.

Since 1971 he has been chief conductor of the Vienna Philharmonic and from 1979 to 1988 of the London Symphony Orchestras. From 1989 to 2002, Abbado was Artistic Director and fifth Principal Conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra (his predecessors were von Bülow, Nikisch, Furtwängler, Karajan; his successor was Sir Simon Rattle).

Claudio Abbado was artistic director of the Vienna Opera (1986-91, among the productions of Berg’s Wozzeck, 1987; Rossini’s Journey to Reims, 1988; Khovanshchina, 1989). In 1987, Abbado was the General Director of Music in Vienna. He performed at Covent Garden (he made his debut in 1968 at Don Carlos). In 1985, in London, Abbado organized and directed the Mahler, Vienna and the 1988th Century Festival. In 1991, he laid the foundation for the annual event in Vienna (“Win Modern”), which was held as a festival of contemporary music, but gradually covered all areas of contemporary art. In 1992 he founded the International Competition for Composers in Vienna. In 1994, Claudio Abbado and Natalia Gutman founded the Berlin Meetings chamber music festival. Since 1995, the conductor has been the artistic director of the Salzburg Easter Festival (among the productions, Elektra, 1996; Othello, XNUMX), which began to award awards for composition, painting and literature.

Claudio Abbado is interested in developing young musical talents. In 1978 he founded the Youth Orchestra of the European Union, in 1986 the Youth Orchestra. Gustav Mahler, becoming its artistic director and chief conductor; he is also artistic advisor to the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.

Claudio Abbado turns to music of different eras and styles, including works by composers of the 1975th century, including Schoenberg, Nono (the first performer of the opera “Under the Furious Sun of Love”, 1965, the Lyrico Theater), Berio, Stockhausen, Manzoni (the first performer of the opera Atomic Death, XNUMX, Piccola Skala). Abbado is known for his performances of Verdi’s operas (Macbeth, Un ballo in maschera, Simon Boccanegra, Don Carlos, Otello).

In the extensive discography of Claudio Abbado – a complete collection of symphonic works by Beethoven, Mahler, Mendelssohn, Schubert, Ravel, Tchaikovsky; symphonies by Mozart; a number of works by Brahms (symphonies, concertos, choral music), Bruckner; orchestral works by Prokofiev, Mussorgsky, Dvorak. The conductor has received major recording awards, including the Standard Opera Award for Boris Godunov at Covent Garden. Among the recordings we note the operas The Italian in Algiers (soloists Balts, Lopardo, Dara, R. Raimondi, Deutsche Grammofon), Simon Boccanegra (soloists Cappuccili, Freni, Carreras, Giaurov, Deutsche Grammophon), Boris Godunov (soloists Kocherga , Larin, Lipovshek, Remy, Sony).

Claudio Abbado has been awarded many awards, including the Grand Cross of the Italian Republic, the Order of the Legion of Honor, the Grand Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Ring of Honor of the City of Vienna, the Grand Golden Honorary Badge of the Austrian Republic, honors degrees from the universities of Aberdeen, Ferrara and Cambridge, Golden medal of the International Society of Gustav Mahler and the world-renowned “Music Prize of Ernst von Siemens”.