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It was an appropriate and deeply affecting farewell. Anyone who was able to participate in these two hours will never forget the experience. The spirit of Claudio Abbado, the great conductor and founder of orchestras who died on 20 January 2014, was honored in music, words, and silence. With this concert, the members of the LUCERNE FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA remembered with gratitude an extraordinary man and friend who had invited them to help realize his highest ideal of performing orchestral works with the same degree of attention and devotion usually reserved for chamber music. At the beginning of the concert, the conductor’s podium was left unoccupied for the first movement of Schubert’s “Unfinished” symphony.

“Whether his spirit was actually present or the players were able to realize what Abbado – often through his presence alone – had conveyed to them; the experience was both fascinating and moving.” (Der Tagesspiegel)

MEMORIAL CONCERT FOR CLAUDIO ABBADO (Blu-ray Disc Version)


Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 in E-Flat Major, Op. 55, “Eroica”: II. Marcia funebre*

Franz Schubert: Symphony No. 8 in B Minor, D. 759, “Unfinished”: I. Allegro moderato

Friedrich Hölderlin: Brod und Wein

Alban Berg: Violin Concerto

Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 3 in D Minor: VI. Adagio

Isabelle Faust, violin
Bruno Ganz, narrator

Lucerne Festival Orchestra
*Claudio Abbado, conductor
Andris Nelsons, conductor

Recorded live at the Concert Hall of KKL Luzern, August 2013
(Beethoven) and 6 April 2014 (all except Beethoven)

Picture format: 1080i Full-HD
Sound format: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 / PCM Stereo
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: German, English, French, Japanese, Korean
Running time: 98 mins
No. of Discs: 1 (BD 25)