Claudio Abbado, a Conductor With Global Reach, Dies at 80

The New York Times ^ | January 20, 2014 | Allan Kozinn

[EveningStar]

Claudio Abbado, a conductor whose refined interpretations of a large symphonic and operatic repertory won him the directorships of several of the world’s most revered musical institutions — including La Scala, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Vienna Philharmonic, the Vienna State Opera and the Berlin Philharmonic — died on Monday at his home in Bologna, Italy. He was 80.

[EveningStar]

Wikipedia

[EveningStar]

ping

[fieldmarshaldj]

RIP.

[Mikey_1962]

They didn’t mention that he wrote the great book “I Claudius”.

Oh wait... That was written by Robert Graves about Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, the fourth Caesar.

Never mind.

[montag813]

Best Mozart conductor EVER, as Von Karajan as the best with Beethoven. Was lucky to have seen both live (V.K. in Berlin, Abbado in NYC and L.A.)

[IronJack]

Another one of the greats takes a last bow and goes to join the Choir Invisible.

[NewHampshireDuo]

He left a great legacy. I never heard him in person but have many recordings.

[sitetest]

Dear EveningStar,

Thanks for the ping.

Classical Music Ping List ping.

If you would like on or off this list, let me know via FR e-mail.

Thanks,

sitetest

[Revolting cat!]

1/3rd

[a fool in paradise]

What kind of conductor was he? Heavy metal (like copper)?

[Revolting cat!]

He’s not even in the Top 100 of Rolling Stone’s greatest musicians of all the time, like Eddy Von Helen, or Jimmy Hendricks.

[SamAdams76]

I remember reading that he would not take a job in the U.S. because he did not want to deal with union regulations that limited the length of rehearsals. He expected perfection from his players and if he had to drill them deep into the night, so be it.

That right there makes him a role model in my eyes.

[MinuteGal]

Over the years I've heard and enjoyed many of Abbado's excellent recordings.

Unfortunately, my listening pleasure is now sadly truncated, nay, aborted, since the classical music FM station in my neck of the Florida central Gulf coast disappeared into thin air.......and I've found no replacement.

I can get classical and light classical music uninterrupted through my TV set....but these two channels play such archaic, medieval, dreary, deadening, tedious, funereal, boring, heavy, unknown, unpopular, eye-glazing orchestral pieces it's enough to drive you to drink a goblet of poisoned elixir d'amore.

Leni