Remembering Claudio Abbado

Claudio AbbadoRenowned Italian conductor Claudio Abbado passed away yesterday at the age of 80. You can read about his life here.

The greatest conductors know exactly what they want the music to sound like. Through unwavering conviction, they inspire the musicians of the orchestra to share their vision. Great conductors don’t practice in front of a mirror to put on a show. Every gesture embodies the essence of the piece in an honest way. All of this is on display in this clip of Abbado rehearsing the Berlin Philharmonic:

Here is Abbado conducting Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 5. The orchestra is the Lucerne Festival Orchestra:

  1. 0:55 – Traeurmarsch. In gemessenem Schritt. Streng. Wie ein
  2. 13:36 – Stürmisch bewegt. Mit grösster Vehemenz
  3. 28:20 – Scherzo. Kräftig, Nicht zu schnell
  4. 45:17 – Adagietto. Sehr langsam.
  5. 53:49 – Rondo-Finale. Allegro-Allegro giocoso. Frisch.

Culture is a shared primary and, like water: theaters, libraries, museums, movie theaters are as many aqueducts.-Claudio Abbado

About Timothy Judd

A native of Upstate New York, Timothy Judd has been a member of the Richmond Symphony violin section since 2001. He is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music where he earned the degrees Bachelor of Music and Master of Music, studying with world renowned Ukrainian-American violinist Oleh Krysa.

The son of public school music educators, Timothy Judd began violin lessons at the age of four through Eastman’s Community Education Division. He was a student of Anastasia Jempelis, one of the earliest champions of the Suzuki method in the United States.

A passionate teacher, Mr. Judd has maintained a private violin studio in the Richmond area since 2002 and has been active coaching chamber music and numerous youth orchestra sectionals.

In his free time, Timothy Judd enjoys working out with Richmond’s popular SEAL Team Physical Training program.

1 thought on “Remembering Claudio Abbado”

  1. In June 2012 in Paris at the Salle Pleyel, I had the privilege of attending a concert with Claudio Abbado conducting his Orchestra Mozart Bologna in a program of Beethoven and Schumann with guest Radu Lupo, piano. It was a magical evening to treasure.

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