The Last Concert: Mendelssohn – Incidental music to A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Berlioz – Symphonie Fantastique
Berliner Philharmoniker; Claudio Abbado
Berliner Philharmoniker Recordings BPHR 160081
Claudio Abbado was conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra from 1990 to 2002, succeeding the iconic Herbert von Karajan who had died in 1989. On an evening in May 2013 Abbado returned to conduct his last concert with the orchestra and as such it was a rather special event. What to program on such an occasion? There is no absolute answer but after hearing and seeing the concert one must agree that the choice was a right one. This wasn’t an audition for anyone but a final get-together of equals to make some music. This isn’t wishful thinking but there was a oneness between conductor and the orchestra here that produced a solidly romantic view of the shenanigans in the Mendelssohn and solidified the passing phantasmal delusions in the Berlioz. This really was a splendid event.
To commemorate the second anniversary of Abbado’s death, his last concert with them has been issued by the Berlin Philharmonic with full documentation of the evening in a very fine cloth-covered hardcover edition, 24.5cm X 15.5cmX 2.3cm. Inside are two CDs and a Blu-ray disc containing the complete concert in HD audio plus an HD video of the event with choice of stereo or 5.1 surround sound. On the same Blu-ray disc are bonus videos including full documentaries, Claudio Abbado in Berlin – The First Year and Members of the Berlin Philharmonic Remember Claudio Abbado. There are lots of discussions, rehearsals and human interest events plus the reason Abbado had to wait eight months after assuming the post to receive a contract. A personal code to download high resolution audio files is also included.
A well-produced 56-page multilingual booklet the size of the package contains information about the two works on the program and how they are tied together. There are interesting articles with many colour photographs. Also there are the names of the personnel of the orchestra in May 2013.
