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Claudio Abbado

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Claudio Abbado (1933 to 2014) was an Italian conductor and one of the leading conductors of his generation. He was born in Milan, the son of a violinist and professor at the Verdi Conservatoire, who was his first piano teacher. During the German occupation of Milan his mother was in prison because she had hidden a Jewish child. That strengthened his anti-fascist convictions. At the age of eleven he wrote Viva Bartók on a wall, to the displeasure of the Gestapo. As a young man he attended performances at La Scala and rehearsals under Toscanini and Furtwängler.

Music and breakthrough

His career took him to the most important stages. He was music director of La Scala in Milan, chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic and of the London Symphony Orchestra, honorary guest conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and music director of the Vienna State Opera. He also founded the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and the Orchestra Mozart and led the European Union Youth Orchestra. His early recordings from the 1960s include Prokofiev and Ravel with piano soloists, and later came a large number of symphonies and operas. He received the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize and became a senator for life in Italy.

Influence

Abbado was known as a conductor who listened to his musicians and took chamber music as his starting point. He liked working with young musicians and built orchestras that sounded like one large chamber music group. His influence on concert life in Europe was great, and his recordings are still a benchmark.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to a recording of a Prokofiev or Ravel concerto under Abbado and notice how the orchestra accompanies the soloist. Try to hear how light and transparent the sound of the orchestra remains.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

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Categories: Artists