Abbado Conducts Mendelssohn

Claudio Abbado has been in the news lately for his ill health. He has not conducted a concert since last September and his future schedule is very uncertain. In recent years he has drastically cut back his conducting activities due to serious intestinal issues. His main activity has been to lead the Lucerne Festival Orchestra in August every year, give a few concerts and make recordings with Orchestra Mozart, and appear annually with the Berlin Philharmonic.

Now comes word that Orchestra Mozart has suspended operations. Both Orchestra Mozart and the Lucerne Festival Orchestra were created expressly for Abbado and would probably not exist without him. To learn last week that Orchestra Mozart could not carry on is probably another indication that Abbado is not well at all. Abbado is 80 years old.

Abbado's latest recording will be released next month on the Deutsche Grammophon label. It features Martha Argerich playing Mozart Piano Concerti Nos. 20 and 25 with Abbado and Orchestra Mozart.

This video excerpt is taken from a concert given in May of last year by Abbado and the Berlin Philharmonic. The music is the Wedding March from Mendelssohn's Incidental Music for Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Paul E. Robinson