Farewell, Claudio ABBADO

[lennygoran]

[quote="Chalkperson"
I posted this ages ago, nobody took the bait...[/quote]

Well somebody with my lack of classical music knowledge wouldn't take that bait--I always just assumed he was a great conductor and from what others say he was! Regards, Len

[Chalkperson]

I posted this ages ago, nobody took the bait...

Well somebody with my lack of classical music knowledge wouldn't take that bait--I always just assumed he was a great conductor and from what others say he was! Regards, Len

I think Jose, myself and others wrote about his work. But once a thread gets derailed by nitpicking on the word significant its game over, just like it always is when the topic becomes the meaning of a word.

But surely you have heard his Rossini, his Mussorgsky, and his Verdi Operatic discs and DVD's, they are exemplary in every way. His work at La Scala dragged the place into the 20th century.

He had class, pure and simple, I never read a bad word about him, he was universally loved by the musicians he worked with, and a significant addition to the Musical Giants of the Conducting World who have now passed away.

[Seán]

I posted this ages ago, nobody took the bait...

Well somebody with my lack of classical music knowledge wouldn't take that bait--I always just assumed he was a great conductor and from what others say he was! Regards, Len

I think Jose, myself and others wrote about his work. But once a thread gets derailed by nitpicking on the word significant its game over, just like it always is when the topic becomes the meaning of a word.

But surely you have heard his Rossini, his Mussorgsky, and his Verdi Operatic discs and DVD's, they are exemplary in every way. His work at La Scala dragged the place into the 20th century.

He had class, pure and simple, I never read a bad word about him, he was universally loved by the musicians he worked with, and a significant addition to the Musical Giants of the Conducting World who have now passed away.

and may I add to that Abbado's Mahler performances with the CSO, BPO & LFO, his last Beethoven cycle with the BPO, his Schubert and Mendelssohn cycles, his Stravinsky, Bartok and Haydn recordings: the man has left a lovely legacy.

[Tarantella]

To Lenny: sustained excellence is praiseworthy, for sure, but I've already explained and re-explained about significance and have nothing more to say on that subject.

So be it but I will add this definition I found:

sig·nif·i·cant
adjective \sig-ˈni-fi-kənt\

: large enough to be noticed or have an effect

: very important

: having a special or hidden meaning

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/significant

Regards, Len

Len, you've nailed it!! Abbado was VERY significant as a conductor and musician. I, on the other hand, am very INSIGNIFICANT. And loving it!!

[josé echenique]

I posted this ages ago, nobody took the bait...

Well somebody with my lack of classical music knowledge wouldn't take that bait--I always just assumed he was a great conductor and from what others say he was! Regards, Len

I think Jose, myself and others wrote about his work. But once a thread gets derailed by nitpicking on the word significant its game over, just like it always is when the topic becomes the meaning of a word.

But surely you have heard his Rossini, his Mussorgsky, and his Verdi Operatic discs and DVD's, they are exemplary in every way. His work at La Scala dragged the place into the 20th century.

He had class, pure and simple, I never read a bad word about him, he was universally loved by the musicians he worked with, and a significant addition to the Musical Giants of the Conducting World who have now passed away.

Maybe I can be excused Chalkie, because after all, English is my second language. In fact, if I´m not mistaken I may be the only regular in this Forum who writes in a language different from his mother tongue.

[jbuck919]

Maybe I can be excused Chalkie, because after all, English is my second language. In fact, if I´m not mistaken I may be the only regular in this Forum who writes in a language different from his mother tongue.

There is Marc from the Netherlands (off the top of my head). Your English is so idiomatic that I always assumed you were bilingual.

[josé echenique]

Maybe I can be excused Chalkie, because after all, English is my second language. In fact, if I´m not mistaken I may be the only regular in this Forum who writes in a language different from his mother tongue.

There is Marc from the Netherlands (off the top of my head). Your English is so idiomatic that I always assumed you were bilingual.

Oh, thank you!!!! But English is in fact a second language for me.

[lennygoran]

his Verdi Operatic discs and DVD's,

Can't say I'm familiar with them--I saw Netflix operas with Muti which I thought were wonderful! Regards, Len

[lennygoran]

I, on the other hand, am very INSIGNIFICANT. And loving it!!

Sue come on--you are not! Regards, Len

[Chalkperson]

I posted this ages ago, nobody took the bait...

Well somebody with my lack of classical music knowledge wouldn't take that bait--I always just assumed he was a great conductor and from what others say he was! Regards, Len

I think Jose, myself and others wrote about his work. But once a thread gets derailed by nitpicking on the word significant its game over, just like it always is when the topic becomes the meaning of a word.

But surely you have heard his Rossini, his Mussorgsky, and his Verdi Operatic discs and DVD's, they are exemplary in every way. His work at La Scala dragged the place into the 20th century.

He had class, pure and simple, I never read a bad word about him, he was universally loved by the musicians he worked with, and a significant addition to the Musical Giants of the Conducting World who have now passed away.

Maybe I can be excused Chalkie, because after all, English is my second language. In fact, if I´m not mistaken I may be the only regular in this Forum who writes in a language different from his mother tongue.

I took that into account Jose, it would have been nice if John had done so too, in fact I mentioned it to another member in a PM today, I'm Welsh and English is my second language too.

[Chalkperson]

his Verdi Operatic discs and DVD's,

Can't say I'm familiar with them--I saw Netflix operas with Muti which I thought were wonderful! Regards, Len

Can't believe you don't know any of these magnificent recordings..

Ballo
Falstaff
Macbeth
Boccanegra
Aida

That's just from memory, I'm sure Jose will tell us if I left any out...

[Chalkperson]

I posted this ages ago, nobody took the bait...

Well somebody with my lack of classical music knowledge wouldn't take that bait--I always just assumed he was a great conductor and from what others say he was! Regards, Len

I think Jose, myself and others wrote about his work. But once a thread gets derailed by nitpicking on the word significant its game over, just like it always is when the topic becomes the meaning of a word.

But surely you have heard his Rossini, his Mussorgsky, and his Verdi Operatic discs and DVD's, they are exemplary in every way. His work at La Scala dragged the place into the 20th century.

He had class, pure and simple, I never read a bad word about him, he was universally loved by the musicians he worked with, and a significant addition to the Musical Giants of the Conducting World who have now passed away.

and may I add to that Abbado's Mahler performances with the CSO, BPO & LFO, his last Beethoven cycle with the BPO, his Schubert and Mendelssohn cycles, his Stravinsky, Bartok and Haydn recordings: the man has left a lovely legacy.

Of course Sean, he was magnificent in all those composers too, but don't leave out Mozart, I stuck to opera as that's Lenny's specialty

[lennygoran]

Can't believe you don't know any of these magnificent recordings..

Ballo
Falstaff
Macbeth
Boccanegra
Aida

Just checked my LP collection--my Simon is Abbado on DG--my Falstaff is Bernstein on Columbia--Macbeth and Ballo are Leinsdorf on RCA--I love them all! Regards, Len

[Chalkperson]

Can't believe you don't know any of these magnificent recordings..

Ballo
Falstaff
Macbeth
Boccanegra
Aida

Just checked my LP collection--my Simon is Abbado on DG--my Falstaff is Bernstein on Columbia--Macbeth and Ballo are Leinsdorf on RCA--I love them all! Regards, Len

I guess you don't buy multiple recordings, those all sound a bit dated to me now. I never thought that much of Leinsdorf's conducting either.

Abbado's Boccanegra is one if the greatest Opera recordings ever made IMHO

[josé echenique]

Can't believe you don't know any of these magnificent recordings..

Ballo
Falstaff
Macbeth
Boccanegra
Aida

Just checked my LP collection--my Simon is Abbado on DG--my Falstaff is Bernstein on Columbia--Macbeth and Ballo are Leinsdorf on RCA--I love them all! Regards, Len

I guess you don't buy multiple recordings, those all sound a bit dated to me now. I never thought that much of Leinsdorf's conducting either.

Abbado's Boccanegra is one if the greatest Opera recordings ever made IMHO

It most definitely is, as is his Carmen and Viaggio a Reims.

[lennygoran]

I guess you don't buy multiple recordings, those all sound a bit dated to me now.

Chalkie you're right--I don't buy multiple recordings--yesterday while cooking I played the Macbeth--for me it was just superb--Leonard Warren!!! Regards, Len

[Seán]

Here is a lovely tribute to the Maestro:

Abbado per sempre / Abbado forever

The tribute has seen the orchestra perform Beethoven's funeral march from his Symphony No. 3 to an empty house, a tradition dating back to the death of Arturo Toscanini in 1957.

The performance was relayed live outside the opera house here it was watched by thousands of people, gathered in the piazza della Scala.

Barenboim was a close friend of Claudio Abbado and joined him on stage at La Scala when Abbado made his comeback in 2012 after a bout of ill health.

In a heartfelt tribute to Abbado written earlier this week, Barenboim said: "We have lost one of the great musicians of the last half-century and one of the few musicians who had a particularly close relation with the spirit of the music, and one that went beyond the boundaries of musical genres."

"He sent signal to the world that young and inexperienced musicians can, with the right mindset and commitment play music at the very highest level. For this we must thank him."

[Seán]

Here is a lovely tribute to Claudio Abbado from the musicians of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The comment that "there was nobody better" says it all.

[Ken]

Such a shame about Maestro Abbado. He was surely one of the supreme musical minds of the last half-century and stands alone in my opinion in his reading of Mahler.

Interesting that there is no definitive biography of the man; I recall a story from a few years back of a biographer who had painted a less-than-charming picture of the man and whose book was eventually shunned (either by the publisher or the public, I can't recall). Abbado's would be an interesting life to read about.