Memorial Concert for Claudio Abbado, Blu-ray (2014/2015)
Performers: Lucerne Festival Orchestra cond. by Andris Nelsons
Studio: Accentus ACC1031 [Dist. by Naxos] [1/27/15]
Video: 16×9 1080p HD color
Audio: DTS HD-MA 5.1 and PCM Stereo
Subtitles: English, German, French
No region coding
Length: 85 minutes
Rating: **** for audio and performance (* for interrupting the music)
Claudio Abbado, the great conductor and founder of orchestras, who died on January 20, 2014, was honored in music, words, and silence in concert last year. With this event, represented on this Blu-ray disc, the members of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra remembered with gratitude an extraordinary man and friend who had invited them to help realize his highest ideal of performing orchestral works with a high degree of attention and devotion. At the beginning of the concert, the conductor’s podium was left unoccupied for the first movement of Schubert’s “Unfinished” Symphony No. 3. Other works include an excerpt form Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, Alban Berg’s Violin Concerto, and the adagio from Mahler’s Symphony No. 3.
There is also a reading by Bruno Ganz from Hölderlein’s Brot und Wein, a favorite of Abbado’s. The disc also contains comments of musicians who played under the baton of the maestro, which are moving and heartfelt.
I have mixed emotions about this disc. It is emotional, and a fine tribute to Abbado. At the same time, the music selections are not always played through without interruption. In the Beethoven, for example, the music fades while we hear and see comments from musicians. The comments are not in english, so subtitles will need to be turned on by most english-speaking viewers. I think it would have been better to leave the music untouched, and segregate the comments, relevant as they are, to a separate place in the program, or between the selections.
The music itself is superb. I especially enjoyed Berg’s Violin Concerto with soloist Isabelle Faust, which happily is not interrupted and allowed to play straight through. The musicianship throughout the concert is of very high caliber, and the recorded sound is excellent. There is a solid stereo image up front, while hall ambiance fills the surrounds. The strings are very smooth, and percussion is sharply defined.
The best moments on the disc are the adagio from the Mahler Third Symphony. A favorite of Abbado, it’s wonderfully played under conductor Andris Nelsons. At the end of the movement, Nelson pauses for a minute of silence before acknowledging the crowd so applause can begin. Nelson sheds a tear, and the emotion of the musicians is clearly visible. It’s a dramatic, and deeply moving moment, but it is lessened in impact by comments made over the orchestra at the beginning of the piece.
This disc leaves me conflicted. It’s part music, part tribute, and serves as a memorial to one of this centuries great musicians. On the other hand, much of the music is interrupted with remembrances of Abaddo that I would have rather not had intruding on the music.
If you see the disc as how it is billed, as a Memorial Concert, it’s a worthy purchase. If you are wanting to hear the music, you’d be better off listening to the many wonderful concerts with Abbado available on CD or Blu-ray. Personally, I think the decisions that led to this program were misguided, and I doubt Abbado would be pleased.
—Mel Martin
