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6 Degrees Entertainment

Title - 'The Complete Deutsche Grammophon Recordings'
Artist - Claudio Abbado

For those not in the classical know, Claudio Abbado was an Italian conductor.

One of the most celebrated and respected conductors of the 20th century, particularly in the music of Gustav Mahler, he served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan.

He was also the principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, principal guest conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, music director of the Vienna State Opera, founder and director of Lucerne Festival Orchestra, music director of European Union Youth Orchestra, and principal conductor of the Berliner Philharmonic orchestra.

Indeed, the Berliner Philharmoniker elected their own conductor: after von Karajan’s death they themselves chose Claudio Abbado. He rejuvenated the orchestra, expanded its repertoire, and created a less autocratic atmosphere, inspiring levels of commitment and communication from his musicians that resulted in performances and recordings that stand the test of time.

After decades of an unbending rostrum authority like Karajan, it was Abbado’s ideal to make “chamber music with the orchestra” – in other words, to listen closely to each other and to respond flexibly.

Abbado also opened up programming in a spectacular way. Among Abbado’s beliefs was that the secrets of music should be constantly explored anew, which he did by always shedding light on the lesser known works in a composer’s oeuvre and extant fragments of unknown works.

After his severe illness in 2000, Abbado led the orchestra for another two seasons before stepping down as Artistic Director of the Berlin Philharmonic in 2002.

Abbado’s tenure with the Berliner Philharmonic can be considered as one of the highlights in the orchestra’s history and many of their recordings together remain unsurpassed on record.

He inspired levels of commitment and communication from his musicians that resulted in performances and recordings that stand the test of time.

Abbado’s tenure with the Berliner Philharmonic can be considered as one of the highlights in the orchestra’s history and many of their recording together still remain unsurpassed on record.

Hence, DG celebrates this partnership with an impressive 60-CD Limited Edition Box-Set entitled, The Complete Deutsche Grammophon Recordings. A stunning collection of their complete recordings – many classics right from the start - this new box-set is the complete package, of that be sure.

Contents:
Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 1-9 (complete)
Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 1-5 (complete)
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Maurizio Pollini (piano)
Beethoven: Egmont Incidental Music, Op. 84
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Cheryl Studer (soprano)
Beethoven: Ah! Perfido, Op. 65
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Cheryl Studer (soprano)
Beethoven: Leonore Overture No. 2, Op. 72a
Beethoven: Fantasia for Piano, Chorus and Orchestra in C minor, Op. 80
RIAS Kammerchor, Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Yevgeny Kissin (piano)
Beethoven: Die Weihe des Hauses, incidental music, Hess 118
Beethoven: Leonore Prohaska WoO 96
Brahms: Symphonies Nos. 1-4 (complete)
Brahms: Gesang der Parzen (Song of the Fates), Op. 89
Ernst Senff Chor, Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado
Brahms: Alto Rhapsody, Op. 53
Ernst Senff Chor, Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Marjana Lipovsek (mezzo-soprano)
Brahms: Tragic Overture, Op. 81
Brahms: Schicksalslied, Op. 54
Ernst Senff Chor, Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado
Brahms: Variations on a theme by Haydn for orchestra, Op. 56a 'St Anthony Variations'
Brahms: Nänie von Friedrich Schiller, für Chor und Orchester, Op. 82
Rundfunkchor Berlin, Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado
Brahms: Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80
Brahms: Serenade No. 1 in D major, Op. 11
Brahms: Serenade No. 2 in A Major, Op. 16
Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, Op. 15
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Alfred Brendel (piano)
Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat major, Op. 83
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Alfred Brendel (piano)
Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, Op. 15
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Maurizio Pollini (piano)
Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat major, Op. 83
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Maurizio Pollini (piano)
Brahms: Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Shlomo Mintz (violin)
Brahms: Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80
Brahms: Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Viktoria Mullova (violin)
Brahms: Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Gil Shaham (violin)
Brahms: Double Concerto for Violin & Cello in A minor, Op. 102
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Gil Shaham (violin), Jian Wang (cello)
Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem, Op. 45
Swedish Radio Choir, Eric-Ericson-Kammerchor, Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Cheryl Studer (soprano), Andreas Schmidt (baritone)
Debussy: Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune
Debussy: Trois Nocturnes
Rundfunkchor Berlin, Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado
Debussy: Pelléas et Mélisande - Suite
Dvorak: Othello Overture, Op. 93
Dvorak: Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95 'From the New World'
Hindemith: Symphony 'Mathis der Maler'
Hindemith: Nobilissima Visione
Hindemith: Symphonic Metamorphoses on Themes by Carl Maria von Weber
Janáček: The Diary of One Who Disappeared
Women of the RIAS Kammerchor, Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Philip Langridge (tenor), Brigitte Balleys (contralto)
Janáček: Sinfonietta
Kurtág: Grabstein für Stephan Op. 15c
Stockhausen: Gruppen
Kurtág: Stele Op. 33
Mahler: Symphony No. 1 in D major 'Titan'
Mahler: Symphony No. 3
London Symphony Chorus, City of Birmingham Symphony Youth Chorus, Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Anna Larsson (contralto)
Mahler: Symphony No. 4
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Renée Fleming (soprano)
Berg: Sieben frühe Lieder
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Renée Fleming (soprano)
Mahler: Symphony No. 5
Mahler: Symphony No. 6 in A minor 'Tragic'
Mahler: Symphony No. 7
Mahler: Symphony No. 8 in E flat major 'Symphony of a Thousand'
Rundfunkchor Berlin, Prager Philharmonischer Chor, Tölzer Knabenchor, Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Cheryl Studer, Sylvia McNair, Andrea Rost (sopranos), Anne Sofie von Otter, Rosemarie Lang (mezzos), Peter Seiffert (tenor), Bryn Terfel & Jan-Hendrik Rootering (bass-baritones)
Mahler: Symphony No. 9
Mahler: Des Knaben Wunderhorn (1901 version)
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Thomas Quasthoff (baritone), Anne Sofie von Otter (mezzo-soprano)
Mozart: Requiem in D minor, K626
Swedish Radio Choir, Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Kay Johannsen (organ), Karita Mattila (soprano), Bryn Terfel (bass-baritone), Michael Schade (tenor), Sara Mingardo (mezzo-soprano)
Mozart: Grabmusik KV 42
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Rachel Harnisch (soprano), Kay Johannsen (organ)
Mozart: Vesperae Solennes de Confessore, K339: Laudate Dominum
Swedish Radio Choir, Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Rachel Harnisch (soprano), Kay Johannsen (organ)
Mozart: Nehmt meinen Dank, ihr holden Gönner!, concert aria K383
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Christine Schäfer (soprano)
Mozart: Exsultate, jubilate, K165
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Christine Schäfer (soprano)
Mozart: Mia speranza adorata... Ah, non sai qual pena, K416
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Christine Schäfer (soprano)
Mozart: Ch'io mi scordi di te?... Non temer, amato bene, K505
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Christine Schäfer (soprano)
Mozart: Ruhe sanft, mein holdes Leben (from Zaïde)
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Christine Schäfer (soprano)
Mozart: Vorrei spiegarvi, oh Dio! K418
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Christine Schäfer (soprano)
Strauss, R: Wiegenlied, Op. 41 No. 1
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Christine Schäfer (soprano)
Strauss, R: Das Rosenband, Op. 36 No. 1
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Christine Schäfer (soprano)
Strauss, R: Liebeshymnus, Op. 32 No. 3
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Christine Schäfer (soprano)
Strauss, R: Das Bächlein, Op. 88 No. 1
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Christine Schäfer (soprano)
Strauss, R: Morgen, Op. 27 No. 4
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Christine Schäfer (soprano)
Mussorgsky: A Night on the Bare Mountain
Mussorgsky: The Destruction of Sennacherib
Prague Philharmonic Chorus, Berliner Philharmoniker
Claudio Abbado
Mussorgsky: Salammbo - Chorus of Priestesses
Prague Philharmonic Chorus, Berliner Philharmoniker
Claudio Abbado
Mussorgsky: Oedipus in Athens - Chorus of People in the Temple
Prague Philharmonic Chorus, Berliner Philharmoniker
Claudio Abbado
Mussorgsky: Joshua
Prague Philharmonic Chorus, Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado
Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition
Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet - Suites 1 - 3
Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 1 in D flat major, Op. 10
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Yevgeny Kissin (piano)
Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 3 in C major, Op. 26
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Yevgeny Kissin (piano)
Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 3 in C major, Op. 26
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Martha Argerich (piano)
Ravel: Piano Concerto in G major
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Martha Argerich (piano)
Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Lilya Zilberstein (piano)
Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Lilya Zilberstein (piano)
Schumann: Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Maurizio Pollini (piano)
Schoenberg: Piano Concerto, Op. 42
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Maurizio Pollini (piano)
Strauss, R: Gesang der Apollopriesterin Op. 33 No. 2
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Karita Mattila (soprano)
Strauss, R: Freundliche Vision, Op. 48 No. 1
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Karita Mattila (soprano)
Strauss, R: Cäcilie, Op. 27 No. 2
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Karita Mattila (soprano)
Strauss, R: Verfuehrung Op. 33 No. 1
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Karita Mattila (soprano)
Strauss, R: Frühlingsfeier Op. 56 No. 5
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Karita Mattila (soprano)
Strauss, R: Waldseligkeit, Op. 49 No. 1
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Karita Mattila (soprano)
Strauss, R: Vier letzte Lieder
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Karita Mattila (soprano)
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 23
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Martha Argerich (piano)
Tchaikovsky: The Tempest, Op. 18
Tchaikovsky: Marche slave, Op. 31
Tchaikovsky: Romeo & Juliet - Fantasy Overture
Tchaikovsky: 1812 Overture, Op. 49
Verdi: La forza del destino Overture
Verdi: Luisa Miller Overture
Verdi: Nabucco Overture
Verdi: Aida: Overture (Cairo version)
Verdi: La traviata: Prelude to Act 1
Verdi: Macbeth - Ballo
Verdi: La traviata: Prelude to Act 3
Verdi: Don Carlo: Prelude to Act II (Milan version)
Verdi: I vespri siciliani Overture
Verdi: Falstaff
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Bryn Terfel (Falstaff), Thomas Hampson (Ford), Adrianne Pieczonka (Alice Ford), Danill Shtoda (Fenton), Dorothea Röschmann (Nannetta), Larissa Diadkova (Mistress Quickly), Stella Doufexis (Meg Page), Enrico Facini (Dr Cajus), Rundfunkchor Berlin
Verdi: Oh! fede negar potessi (from Luisa Miller)
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Roberto Alagna (tenor)
Verdi: Quando le sere al placido (from Luisa Miller)
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Roberto Alagna (tenor)
Verdi: La mia letizia infondere (from I Lombardi)
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Roberto Alagna (tenor)
Verdi: Se quel guerrier io fossi!…Celeste Aida (from Aida)
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Roberto Alagna (tenor)
Verdi: Celeste Aida (from Aida)
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Roberto Alagna (tenor)
Verdi: Mercè, diletti amici (from Ernani)
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Roberto Alagna (tenor)
Verdi: Come rugiada al cespite (from Ernani)
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Roberto Alagna (tenor)
Verdi: Dell’esilio nel dolore (from Ernani)
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Roberto Alagna (tenor)
Verdi: Forse la soglia attinse (from Un ballo in maschera)
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Roberto Alagna (tenor)
Verdi: Ma se m'è forza perderti (from Un ballo in maschera)
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Roberto Alagna (tenor)
Verdi: Dio, mi potevi scagliar tutti i mali (from Otello)
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Roberto Alagna (tenor)
Verdi: Ma, o pianto, o duo (from Otello)
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Roberto Alagna (tenor)
Verdi: Niun mi tema (from Otello)
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Roberto Alagna (tenor)
Verdi: La vita è inferno … O tu che in seno (from La Forza del Destino)
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Roberto Alagna (tenor)
Verdi: O figli … Ah, la paterna mano (from Macbeth)
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Roberto Alagna (tenor)
Verdi: L'Emir auprès de lui m'appelle...Je veux encore entendre (from Jérusalem)
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Roberto Alagna (tenor)
Verdi: Ah sì ben mio (from Il trovatore)
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Roberto Alagna (tenor)
Verdi: Di quella pira (from Il trovatore)
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Roberto Alagna (tenor)
Wagner: Tannhäuser: Overture
Wagner: Parsifal: Prelude
Wagner: Parsifal: Symphonic Synthesis from Act III
Wagner: Tristan und Isolde: Prelude & Liebestod
Wagner: Tannhäuser: Overture
Wagner: Dich, teure Halle (from Tannhauser)
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Cheryl Studer (soprano)
Wagner: Wie Todesahnung...O du, mein holder Abendstern (from Tannhäuser)
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Bryn Terfel (bass-baritone)
Wagner: In ferner Einsamkeit des Waldes...Um Gott, was klagest du mich an (from Lohengrin)
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Cheryl Studer (soprano)
Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg: Overture
Wagner: Was duftet doch der Flieder (from Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg)
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Bryn Terfel (bass-baritone)
Wagner: Dich selige Frau (from Die Walküre)
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Waltraud Meier (mezzo-soprano), Siegfried Jerusalem (tenor)
Wagner: Die Walküre: Ride of the Valkyries
Bizet: Carmen: Prelude to Act I
Bizet: L'amour est un oiseau rebelle 'Habanera' (from Carmen)
Bizet: Votre toast je peux vous le rendre 'Toreador Song' (from Carmen)
Bizet: Les tringles des sistres tintaient (from Carmen)
Bizet: La fleur que tu m'avais jetée (from Carmen)
Bizet: Les voici, voici la quadrille (from Carmen)
Ravel: Rapsodie Espagnole
Sarasate: Carmen Fantasy, Op. 25
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Gil Shaham (violin)
Rachmaninov: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Mikhail Pletnev (piano)
: Hungarian Dance No. 5
Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro K492 - Sinfonia
Mozart: Deh vieni, non tardar (from Le nozze di Figaro)
Mozart: Deh! vieni alla finestra (from Don Giovanni)
Mozart: Bei Männern, welche Liebe fühlen (from Die Zauberflöte)
Mozart: Fin ch'han dal vino (from Don Giovanni)
Mozart: La ci darem la mano (from Don Giovanni)
Mozart: German Dance, K605 No. 3 'Die Schlittenfahrt'
Bizet: L'Arlesienne Suite No. 2: IV. Farandole
Verdi: La forza del destino Overture
Verdi: È il sol dell'anima (from Rigoletto)
Verdi: Caro nome (from Rigoletto)
Verdi: La donna è mobile (from Rigoletto)
Verdi: Alzati…Eri tu che macchiavi quell'anima (from Un Ballo in Maschera)
Tchaikovsky: Puskay pogibnu ya 'Tatiana's Letter Scene' (from Eugene Onegin)
Tchaikovsky: Polonaise (from Eugene Onegin, Op. 24)
Verdi: Libiamo, ne' lieti calici (from La Traviata)
Berlioz: Le carnaval romain Overture, Op. 9
Wagner: Der fliegende Holländer: Overture
Wagner: Die Frist ist um (from Der fliegende Holländer)
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Bryn Terfel (bass-baritone)
Wagner: Wahn! Wahn! Überall Wahn! (from Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg)
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Bryn Terfel (bass-baritone)
Wagner: Was duftet doch der Flieder (from Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg)
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Bryn Terfel (bass-baritone)
Wagner: Wie Todesahnung...O du, mein holder Abendstern (from Tannhäuser)
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Bryn Terfel (bass-baritone)
Wagner: Nein, Lasst ihn unenthüllt (Parsifal)
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Bryn Terfel (bass-baritone)
Wagner: Ja, wehe! Wehe! Weh über mich! (from Parsifal)
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Bryn Terfel (bass-baritone)
Wagner: Leb wohl, du kühnes, herrliches Kind! (from Die Walküre)
Berliner Philharmoniker Claudio Abbado Bryn Terfel (bass-baritone)

As history has taught us, Abbado was as much a man of the theatre as he was one of the greatest of all late 20th century symphonic conductors. Opera was central to all his orchestral posts, with three great composers forming the major pillars of his recorded opera legacy: Mozart, Rossini and Verdi.

Throughout his recorded legacy, the listener feels a real sense that characters are thought through in great detail and Abbado conducts with an obvious love for the music but also with a flexibility informed from the drama of the moment.

As you can already see, here in this masterful 60-CD box-set, original jacket collection, is included the complete Brahms and Beethoven Symphony Cycles; something that, as a fan, I find to be a wondrous inclusion.

It also includes celebrated collaborations with Martha Argerich, Bryn Terfel, Maurizio Pollini, Evegny Kissin, Roberto Alagna, Christine Schäfer, Alfred Brendel, Viktoria Mullova, Gil Shaham, and Renée Fleming.

With the 130pp booklet (E/D/I) including new notes from Julia Spinola, this sublime box-set is truly one of the most magnificent snaring of a composer's works (for one label, and with one company) in one housing, of that you have my professional word.

Taking a moment to look deeper into certain works contained here on this box-set, Abbado first fell under the spell of Mahler's music during his years as a student in Vienna.

Indeed, his first memories of Mahler, conducted by Bruno Walter, Dimitri Mitropoulos and Leonard Bernstein, left a deep impression: Their interpretations were great; each of them had such a strong personality.

In 1963, Abbado traveled to New York as winner of the Mitropoulos Conducting Competition to work as Bernstein's assistant at the New York Philharmonic. In 2010 he recalled a Ma's Second Symphony that Bernstein went to sit in the hall and asked me to get on the podium."

"He wanted to hear the very complex part, in the finale, where the principal ideas are played by the small orchestra offstage. Bernstein was surprised and very happy that I was aware of how difficult this passage was."

Containing six works from Mahler, when you hear his certain treatments of a particular passage you just kind of smile internally. Abbado was unique, for sure, in his understanding of the importance of silence. The absence of sound is sometimes as important as sound itself.

His famous 5 minute pause at the end of the 9th was nothing short of a miracle in terms of allowing the listener to process what he just heard. It was almost a religious experience: otherworldly in a way.

Another set of covered inspirations here is that of Mozart, where we are treated to a wealth of nine works. I personally love Abbado's effort to clarify contrapuntal textures in the pieces and to bring forward important woodwind parts that often get obscured in traditional string-dominated orchestral sonority.

I also liked Abbado's brisk tempos in several of these works, and his decision to take second-half repeats in some sonata form movements (the finale of the Jupiter benefits greatly from this practice). Another positive feature of these performances is the evident affection Abbado and his beloved Berliner Philharmoniker enjoy for one another and, I must note, for the music, of course.

The last works I'll highlight are the massively-covered twenty of Brahms. Indeed, this cycle of Brahms symphonies was one of his first fruits of his tenure with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.

What I admire about Abbado's treatment of Brahms is its balance. It is both dramatic and lyrical, clarifying Brahms's orchestral textures. His recording of the First Symphony bears this out. It captures its stern, unsmiling mood quite well, but yet finds room for warmth.

The other symphonies fare well too. The Second is a highlight of the cycle and brings out the Italianate warmth inherent in Abbado's conducting. The Third and Fourth have a momentum of their own, yet they are also supple and clear, giving each section the chance to shine.

For my money, to my ear, brings a beautifully lyrical approach to the symphonies. The only, well, "downside" is that I think this Brahms, while beautiful, is just a little on the mild side.

I'd like to hear a bit more emotion, weight, and drama. But another upside to this Brahms set are the other works, especially the more rarely heard choral works, which are some real gems and wonderfully performed.

• 60-CD limited edition original jacket collection
• Includes the complete Brahms and Beethoven Symphony Cycles
• Includes celebrated collaborations with Martha Argerich, Bryn Terfel, Maurizio Pollini, Evegny Kissin, Roberto Alagna, Christine Schäfer, Alfred Brendel, Viktoria Mullova, Gil Shaham, and Renée Flemming
• 130pp booklet
• The Beethoven Symphonies recorded in Rome 2001, representing Abbado´s final interpretative wishes “There are many reasons for releasing this new edition; above all musical ones. After many performances of the cycle, our interpretative vision had matured, becoming more natural and shared. The concerts in Rome marked significant advances in terms of style, spirit and technique.”
• The Beethoven Piano Concertos with Pollini which stand as a lasting testament to the long-standing musical dialogue and friendship between the two maestros, both from Milan, who began their collaboration in the 1960s
• Abbado’s and the Berliner Philharmoniker’s recordings of Brahms’ Symphonies, Serenades and Overtures are widely recognized as containing the best modern recordings of his symphonic oeuvre. “Brahms would be the top of my Abbado picks,” critic Martin Kettle has written, “partly but not only because all those years ago he drove into the tragic grandeur of the first movement of the first symphony with a human warmth which very few other conductors have ever achieved.”
• Abbado’s Mahler Berlin recordings are regarded as one of the crowning achievements of his final years. “In performance, he became a conduit between the forces assembled on stage and the emotional narrative that resides in the music, completely transparent and without an interfering ego” – Stanley Dodds (BP violinist)
• Martha Argerich and Claudio Abbado 45-year collaboration in the studio began in 1967 with Argerich’s brilliant concerto-debut release of the Prokofiev Third and Ravel G major with the Berliner Philharmoniker and would include among many celebrated performances, Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No.1: “You’ll never witness anything more stupendous than the first movement’s championship double octaves … Not that she’s interested in stunts … with Argerich you hear the music, not the note-making. At that moment of blistering chemistry, Abbado simply upped the stakes and she replied.” – Ates Orga
• The 1998 Berlin Gala featuring Mirella Freni and Marcelo Álvarez
• Stockhausen's tour de force for three orchestras, "Gruppen"

Official Piano Masters in Berlin' [8 CD Box-Set] Purchase Link

www.DeutscheGrammophon.com





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