From Bologna came the news of Claudio Abbado’s death, at 80, following a long illness. He had suffered health problems for many years, resigning from the Vienna Opera for health reasons in 1991 and later undergoing surgery for stomach cancer.
Now, international orchestras and musicians are sounding a Requiem for Claudio Abbado, the influential and world-renowned musical conductor.
Over a long career, Abbado conducted many of the world’s leading orchestras, serving as music director at the La Scala Opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, music director of the Vienna State Opera, principal guest conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and, from 1989 to 2002, principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic.
His career began at La Scala in 1960 and he went on to become musical director of the famous opera house until 1986. La Scala said illness forced Abbado to cancel two concerts in 2010 that were to have marked his return to the Milan Opera house for the first time in 25 years, and to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his conducting debut.
Born into a musical family (his father Michelangelo was a violinist and teacher at the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Milan) in 1933, he began his musical studies on the violin and piano with his parents when he was 8. Then he trained at the Milan Conservatory before studying under Hans Swarowsky in Vienna.
Passionate about young musicians, he founded many youth orchestras across Europe, including the European Youth Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and the Mozart Orchestra.
Abbado was known for the directness and musicality of his performances. He was considered a particularly lyrical interpreter of Mahler, whose richly emotional language he had absorbed as a student in Vienna. But he was also regarded as a distinguished conductor of Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert, and he had a flair for Russian symphonic music.
He made his professional debut with Prokofiev’s “Love for Three Oranges” in Trieste, in 1958. His repertory included Mozart and Wagner as well, but his real specialties were Rossini and Verdi, whose music he performed with respect for the artistry they embody rather than the showmanship they allow.
Throughout his career he maintained a fondness for the music of Schoenberg, Berg and Webern, and he championed new works by Luigi Nono, Krzysztof Penderecki, Goffredo Petrassi, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Pierre Boulez, Luigi Dallapiccola and Giacomo Manzoni.
His American career saw him in 1982 as principal guest conductor in Chicago, where he held the position until 1986. In 1989, he was again the favored candidate of one of the top American orchestras, the New York Philharmonic, where he had been an assistant conductor early in his career. But just when negotiations reached the point where Abbado was looking for an apartment in Manhattan, the Berlin Philharmonic named him to succeed Herbert von Karajan as its music director, a position he held until 2002.
Appointed Senator for life for contributions to Italian culture, he received many awards and honors included two Grammy and four honorary doctorates. In April 2012 he was voted into the Gramaphone Hall of Fame.
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