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Claudio Abbado and the Berliner Philharmoniker: The Last Concert (CD + Blu-ray) | Berlin Philharmonic BPHR160081

Claudio Abbado and the Berliner Philharmoniker: The Last Concert (CD + Blu-ray)

£47.79

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Label: Berlin Philharmonic

Cat No: BPHR160081

Barcode: 4260306180813

Format: CD + Blu-ray

Number of Discs: 3

Release Date: 22nd January 2016

Contents

Artists

Deborah York (soprano)
Stella Doufexis (mezzo-soprano)
Damen des Chors des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Berliner Philharmoniker

Conductor

Claudio Abbado

Works

Berlioz, Hector

Symphonie fantastique, op.14 H48

Mendelssohn, Felix

A Midsummer Night's Dream: Incidental Music, op.61
A Midsummer Night's Dream: Overture, op.21

Artists

Deborah York (soprano)
Stella Doufexis (mezzo-soprano)
Damen des Chors des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Berliner Philharmoniker

Conductor

Claudio Abbado

About

Claudio Abbado (1933–2014) was one of the outstanding personalities in the history of the Berliner Philharmoniker. In May 2013, their unique partnership ended with Abbado’s last concert with the orchestra. The programme included two of the most important works of musical Romanticism: Hector Berlioz’s visionary Symphonie fantastique and Felix Mendelssohn’s magical, shimmering music for A Midsummer Night’s Dream. To mark the second anniversary of Claudio Abbado’s death on 20 January 2016, audio and video recordings of this memorable evening have been released in a hardcover luxury edition. With comprehensive articles and previously unpublished photographs, it documents Abbado’s work with the orchestra whose chief conductor he was from 1990 to 2002.

The recordings impressively convey the special atmosphere of the evening: the great affection the orchestra and the audience had for Claudio Abbado – and of course the enthusiasm for the musical performances. Renowned not least for his clever concert programming, Abbado combined two works here that deal with the theme of dreams in music in very different ways: Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream conveys the multifaceted magical atmosphere of Shakespeare’s original, while Berlioz uses modern means to tell his delirious tale of fateful love and drug-induced hallucinations. Abbado’s performance brings out the full splendour of these scores. It is – as the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung wrote – a “wonder, the freedom and youthful-like spirit with which the soon to be octogenarian expends himself, which he radiates and which he presents to his audience from the conductor’s stand.”

The edition contains the recordings on CD and in high resolution audio on a Blu-ray disc which also features a video of the concert. The bonus material includes a historical documentary about Abbado’s first year as chief conductor of the Berliner Philharmoniker. In addition, the concert is now available in a new, lower-priced version on 2 CDs/SACDs which can be played on any CD or SACD player.

Concert video: HD recording of the entire concert
Full HD 16:9 / PCM Stereo · 5.0 Surround DTS-HD
Running time: 107 mins
Region code: ABC (worldwide)

Bonus videos:
- Documentary: “Abbado in Berlin – The First Year”
- Members of the Berliner Philharmoniker remember Claudio Abbado
Running time: 75 mins
Region code: ABC (worldwide)

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