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Abbado..............great?

27K views 67 replies 45 participants last post by  Montarsolo 
#1 ·
What do you guys think?
 
#3 ·
that's what i mean.........great.
 
#5 ·
yeah, i think he's sound and a fine musician, but extraordinary i don't see.
just mho.

maybe others do think he's great.............?
 
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#6 ·
Well hes probably among the best 1% of conductors alive in the whole world, so once could argue that he is great.
But more seriously, hes a conductor I can always trust to give a good performance.
 
#8 ·
If he was in an empty room and somebody said: "Who's the greatest conductor in this room?", the answer would be Abbado. But he is not great , never,never, never in a month of Sundays.
 
#11 ·
Abbado is interesting. He also now conducts historically informed performance practice with increasing frequency over the last few years.
 
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#12 ·
I just happened on my copy of BBC Music Magazine from April 2011. 100 current conductors were asked to pick the conductors who most inspired them. Nine of them picked Abbado third. Three picked him second. Four picked him first. Overall, he came in third on the list.

I don't normally put a lot of stock in polls like this, but I'd certainly give more weight to the opinions of actual conductors than I would to "Talk Classical" posters. ;)

My personal opinion? I think of Abbado as a solid conductor. I've listened to a lot of his recordings and he seldom, if ever, disappoints me. Occasionally great. And, fun to watch on DVD. So, I'd answer the OP, "Yes".
 
#15 ·
We've been through this already on a thread of May 18th, 2011, i would look it up. "Carlos Kleiber Voted Greatest Conductor of All Time" That's not a good start in any case. First of all the panel of conductors were not an inspiring lot themselves so the inspirors didn't do much of a job. They were talking, as we know,of the conductors who INSPIRED them not wh o was great or otherwise. I wonder who you are to dismiss TC posters in such a cavalier fashion. I would think that I have seen more great conductors than most of this panel if not all.I saw Toscanini when he came to England sfter WW11and I have seen most of the "legends". So my opinion is valid as are those of other experienced members that's the whole point of this whole set-up.Abbado is certainly not a great conductor although you are free to think so naturally.We all ,I am sure, look forward to you acquainting us with your experience of "great" symphonic and operatic conductors.
 
#14 ·
why "those days are gone?"
 
#20 ·
I have mixed feelings about him. Love his Ravel and his Bizet wih LSO, his Alexandr Nevsky with CSO. Like very much his Mahler Fifth with Lucerne, but have mixed feelings about the 2nd and 6th. His 9th with BPO is also very good. He is sometimes too delicate for Mahler.

From his Brahms I have only the Second symphony, which is a very good one.

Wish him a good health anyway.

BTW, I'm going to buy his latest recording with Isabelle Faust (Berg and Beethoven). I am glad that he supports this talented violinst.

Unfortunately, have never heard him live. He will be performing the 8th by Mahler this year in Lucerne, but alas I have nothing to do in Switzerland. Though, I hope someone from this forum will go to it and write a review.
 
#21 ·
VESTERALAN. I certainly hope that there will be no question of you limiting yourself, particularly after a difference of translation involving me. There are and I'm sure you know them, a number of people who like giving other people a hard time, particularly if they are young. That is so wrong, the young people, and there are many of them should be brought along..As for experts, every one on TC is an expert, you know that, but in any case they keep telling each other. By the way , you might well be a young woman living in Canada after an exchange that been going on in the Community forum regarding posters who appear to have gone. As for your other point, I think you can tell from what they say, whether they know their stuff. I'm 74 and wish to hell I wsa lying! Please look at the Abbado thing as being part of the rough and tumble--I can assure you there was no evil intent on my side.
 
#23 ·
I had always thought Abbado was good, based on a couple of twofer CDs I got early on in my CD collecting mania. I recently got the Abbado Symphonies box set and was distinctly underwhelmed. I still harbor a general impression that he is good in Italian opera if he gets a good cast, but a box set of that might change my mind on that too.
 
#24 · (Edited)
I have an absolutely superb Magic Flute conducted live by Abbado. Simply magic!

His Fidelio is let down by some moronic attempt of a halfwit to rewrite the dialogue. The performance is good, but not, I think, in the same league as Klemperer and Karajan.

Abbado great? Certainly a great musician. Certainly made a great contribution to encouraging youth. As a conductor he certainly had moments of greatness, but his legacy will have to be assessed over time.
 
#25 ·
I love him as a musician and person, but the only thing I really liked by him orchestra wise is his Brahms cycle.
And that in great part because of the recording quality.
He may have been great But not for me.
Some of his Verdi is good. But not his Rossini is hit and miss.
 
#31 ·
Abbado a great?
No I don't think so To use a football analogy he would be a solid premier league team, not a title contender but no danger of relegation. Everton perhaps
Once you start comparing conductors from the past and now it starts to get like the age old debates about football teams from past and present fun but unprovable.
I saw Karajan in London not long before he died and one of the things that struck me was that he was a showman far more than any other conductor I have seen. He didn't 'conduct' the BPO just raised his hands and they played, but god did they play.
 
#37 ·
Abbado a great?
yes, I think so - I have many of his recordings, and I heard him live a few times - a great Mahler 9 with BPO...the orchestra had some problems, but the conducting was superb....
Abbado produced some great recordings with so many different orchestras - CSO, LSO, BPO, VPO just to name a few...

I saw Karajan in London not long before he died and one of the things that struck me was that he was a showman far more than any other conductor I have seen.
I thought the BPO sounded far better under Abbado than it did under HvK...Abbado could really turn it own, let the orchestra play....

Muti is very good....haven't decided exactly where he fits on the scale, but he's very solid - I've head some very fine live, and recorded performances from him.
 
#36 ·
Well . I've got some prejudices about them . A was also a politician ( senatore a vita ( don't tell you for which party )) . His attention for music schools was very relevant . M doesn't since nowadays . A founded many international and national orchestra for young musician . M only in the last years . M abandon La Scala only for money . A was sacked from there for politician reason . A never asked to have soloists + singers he wanted . M instead does . Having listened : prefer A also for his attention of conterporary repetoire .
 
#40 ·
I have had his set of Mendelssohn symphonies for a long time, and always liked it very much. I recently bought a set of his Brahms symphonies, based on a very enthusiastic recommendation, but it didn't really grab me. I think the expectation was a mistake. I have put it aside for the moment, and will return to it with a clearer attitude at some point in the future.
 
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