Marcello Abbado (7 October 19264 June 2020) was an Italian pianist, composer, conductor and academic teacher. His compositions include several

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

l works, two

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

s, numerous pieces for solo

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

, and

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

. As a pianist, he played in major concert halls of the world. He taught composition at several conservatories, ultimately at the

Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory The Milan Conservatory (''Conservatorio di Milano'') is a college of music in Milan, Italy. History The conservatory was established by a royal decree of 1807 in Milan, capital of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy. It opened the following year ...

. In 1989 he was awarded the Gold Medal for Meritorious Culture and Art (Medaglia d'oro ai benemeriti della cultura e dell'arte) by the

Government of Italy The government of Italy is in the form of a democratic republic, and was established by a constitution in 1948. It consists of legislative, executive, and judicial subdivisions, as well as a Head of State, or President. The Italian Constitutio ...

Early life and education

Born in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

into a family of famous musicians, he was the son of violinist , brother of conductor

Claudio Abbado Claudio Abbado (; 26 June 1933 – 20 January 2014) was an Italian conductor who was one of the leading conductors of his generation. He served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the London Symphony ...

, and father of conductor

Roberto Abbado Roberto Abbado (born 30 December 1954, Milan) is an Italian opera and symphonic music conducting, conductor. Currently he is Artistic Partner of The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. In 2015 he has been appointed music director of Palau de les Arts R ...

and digital artist Adriano Abbado. He studied piano at the

with

Gianandrea Gavazzeni Gianandrea Gavazzeni (25 July 19095 February 1996) was an Italian pianist, conductor (especially of opera), composer and musicologist. Gavazzeni was born in Bergamo. For almost 50 years, starting from 1948, he was principal conductor at La Sca ...

and Renzo Lorenzoni, graduating in 1944. He further studied composition with Giulio Cesare Paribèni and

Giorgio Federico Ghedini Giorgio Federico Ghedini (11 July 189225 March 1965) was an Italian composer. In addition to orchestral works, in 1949 he premiered a one-act opera based on the American novella '' Billy Budd'' by Herman Melville. Life Ghedini was born in Cuneo ...

, earning the diploma in 1947.

Career

As a pianist, his repertoire included Mozart's 27 piano concertos, played with the

Vienna Philharmonic The Vienna Philharmonic (VPO; german: Wiener Philharmoniker, links=no) is an orchestra that was founded in 1842 and is considered to be one of the finest in the world. The Vienna Philharmonic is based at the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria. It ...

, and Debussy's entire piano works. He also performed keyboard music by

J. S. Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

and

Alessandro Scarlatti Pietro Alessandro Gaspare Scarlatti (2 May 1660 – 22 October 1725) was an Italian Baroque composer, known especially for his operas and chamber cantatas. He is considered the most important representative of the Neapolitan school of opera. ...

, and

piano concertos A piano concerto is a type of concerto, a solo composition in the classical music genre which is composed for a piano player, which is typically accompanied by an orchestra or other large ensemble. Piano concertos are typically virtuoso showpiec ...

, including those by

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

and

Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer ...

and Ravel's Concerto for the Left Hand. He performed in the major halls of Beijing, Budapest, Buenos Aires, London, Milan, Montreal, Moscow, New York, Paris, Rome, Tokyo and Vienna. In addition to concert activity, Abbado was also a teacher of musical composition at the

Conservatory of Bologna The Conservatorio Giovanni Battista Martini (previously known as the Liceo Musicale di Bologna, and sometimes referred to in English as the Bologna Conservatory) is a college of music in Bologna, Italy. The conservatory opened on 3 December 1804 ...

for twelve years, also in Parma and Piacenza. He later served as the director of the Giuseppe Nicolini Conservatory in Piacenza (1958 to 1966), at the Conservatory "Gioacchino Rossini" in Pesaro (1966 to 1972) and finally at the

in Milan (1972 to 1996). He was also a member of the board at the

Teatro alla Scala La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...

for twenty-four years. In 1993, together with

Vladimir Delman Vladimir Delman (26 January 1923 in Petrograd – 28 August 1994 in Bologna) was a Russian conductor. After leaving the Soviet Union in 1974 he settled in Italy, where he founded the Milan Symphony Orchestra in 1993. References The New York Time ...

, he formed the Symphonic Orchestra of Milan "Giuseppe Verdi", of which he was the artistic director from 1993 to 1996. He also taught masterclasses in Asia, Europe and the United States. His numerous compositions have been published by leading Italian publishers, including Carish, Curci,

Ricordi Ricordi may refer to: People *Giovanni Ricordi (1785–1853), Italian violinist and publishing company founder * Giulio Ricordi (1840–1912), Italian publisher and musician Music *Casa Ricordi, an Italian music publishing company established i ...

and Suvini Zerboni. Programs dedicated exclusively to his music have been performed in Japan, Russia and the United States. Abbado was the president and a jury member of international music competitions, including the Beethoven Competition in Vienna, Bösendorfer in Brussels,

Maria Canals International Music Competition The Maria Canals International Music Competition ( ca, Concurs Internacional de Música Maria Canals Barcelona, ) is a music competition held yearly in the Palau de la Música Catalana, Barcelona. It was founded as a piano competition in 1954, but ...

in Barcelona, Ciani in Milan, Min-On in Tokyo, Obraztosva in Saint Petersburg, Rubinstein in Tel Aviv, and

Van Cliburn International Piano Competition The Van Cliburn International Piano Competition (The Cliburn) is an American piano competition by The Cliburn, first held in 1962 in Fort Worth, Texas and hosted by the Van Cliburn Foundation. Initially held at Texas Christian University, the c ...

in Fort Worth, among many others.

Death

Abbado died in

Stresa Stresa is a town and ''comune'' of about 4,600 residents on the shores of Lake Maggiore in the province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola in the Piedmont region of northern Italy, about northwest of Milan. It is situated on road and rail routes to the Simpl ...

at age 93.

Compositions

Abbado's compositions include ballets, vocal music for choirs and solo voices, orchestral works and chamber music, often including the piano: * ''Ciapo'' for voice and nine instruments * ''Duo'' for violin and cello (1952) * ''Scena senza storia'', ballet (1954) * ''15 Poesie T'ang'' for voice, flute, oboe, cello and piano (1959) * ''Ostinato sopra un ritmo dalla Sinfonia del Signor Bruschino di Rossini'' for piano,

strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

and

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

(1994) * ''Sette Ricercari e Sei Intermezzi'' for violin and orchestra (1996) * ''L'idea fissa'' for violin, choir and thirteen voices (1996) * ''Musica celeste'' (1997) * ''Dieci canti popolari siciliani'' for violin, voice and orchestra (1997) * ''Le campane di Mosca'' for violin and percussion (1998) * ''Hawaii 2000'' * ''Lento e Rondò'' for violin and percussion orchestra (2000) * ''Costruzione'' for twelve cellos (2001) * ''Variazioni sopra un tema di Mozart'' for orchestra (2001) * ''Nuova Costruzione'' for eight

woodwinds Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments. Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and reed ...

(2002) * ''Concerto per flauto e orchestra'' (2002) * ''Australia'' for violin,

didgeridoo The didgeridoo (; also spelt didjeridu, among other variants) is a wind instrument, played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. The didgeridoo was developed by ...

, piano and percussion (2002) * ''Asif, Saleem, Nasreen'' for violin, viola, cello and strings (2002) * ''Risonanza magnetica'' for piano and percussion (2003) * Stage music for ''La voix humaine'' by

Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (, , ; 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost creatives of the su ...

(2003) * ''Il buio negli occhi'' (2003) * ''La strage degli innocenti'',

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir. The meaning of ...

for solo voice, boys' choir, mixed choir and orchestra * ''Concerto'' for orchestra * ''Hommage à C. Debussy'' for orchestra * ''Doppio concerto'' for violin, piano and double chamber orchestra * ''Quadruplo concerto'' for piano, violin, viola, cello and orchestra * ''Concerto'' for harp and

string quartet The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists ...

(2003-2004) * ''Concerto per carillon e orchestra'' (2005) * ''Tankstream'', for string quartet (2005) * ''Fantasia russa'' for violin and string quartet (2005) * ''Sinfonia degli arrivi'' (2006) * ''Carillon su Joyce Yang'' for piano and percussion (2006) * Quattro ''Viola Fantasie'' for oboe, trumpet, piano and

vibraphone The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist,' ...

(2006) * ''Kazach Fantasy'' for violin and orchestra Kazach (2006) * ''Bali'' for violin and Indonesian

gamelan Gamelan () ( jv, ꦒꦩꦼꦭꦤ꧀, su, ᮌᮙᮨᮜᮔ᮪, ban, ᬕᬫᭂᬮᬦ᭄) is the traditional ensemble music of the Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussive instruments. T ...

(2006) * ''Costruzioni... e Ricostruzioni 2007'' * ''Mondrian trio'',

piano trio A piano trio is a group of piano and two other instruments, usually a violin and a cello, or a piece of music written for such a group. It is one of the most common forms found in classical chamber music. The term can also refer to a group of musi ...

(2007) * ''Carillon on Min-On'' for piano four-hands (2008) * ''Van Cliburn Concerto'' for four pianos and orchestra (2008) * ''Java'' for percussion (2008) * ''Concerto'' for four violins and strings (2008) * ''Dialogo a due voci'' for the left hand (2009) * ''Per due orchestre'' (2009) * ''Gloria per Gloria'' for soprano, choir and orchestra (2009) * ''Stagioni'' for violin and reciter (2009) * ''Alicante'' for sixteen horns, sixteen trumpets, sixteen trombones (2010) * ''Sogno'' for orchestra (2010) * ''Asia'' for percussion, voice recordings and Asian instruments (2010) * ''Dialogo'' for harp and trumpet (2011) * ''Sitkovetsky Wu'' for violin and piano (2011) * ''Marlaena Kessick'' for flute orchestra (2011) * ''Fantasia'' for cello (2011) * ''Trio'' for piano, singer, dancer (2012) * ''Fantasia ungherese'' for flute (2012) * ''Trio'' for violin, cello and double bass (2012) * ''Ceneri'' for piano (2012) * ''Così non fan tutte'' for orchestra (2013) * ''Tastiera sola'' for piano (2013) * ''Fibonacci'' for piano (2013) * ''Alhambra'' for orchestra * ''Aus dem klavier'' for piano * ''Chaconne'' for violin * ''Costruzioni for 5 piccole orchestre'' * ''Divertimento'' for four woodwinds and piano * ''Doppio concerto'' for violin, piano and double chamber orchestra * ''Lamento per la morte della madre'' for piano * ''Musica'' for orchestra * ''Quartetto n. 1, n. 2 and n. 3'', string quartets * ''Riverberazioni'' for flute, oboe, bassoon and piano

References

External links

*
Marcello Abbado (Composer, Arranger)
Bach Cantatas Website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abbado, Marcello 1926 births 2020 deaths People of Piedmontese descent Conservatorio Giovanni Battista Martini faculty Italian male composers Italian male conductors (music) Italian classical pianists Male classical pianists Italian male pianists Italian music educators Italian ballet composers 21st-century Italian conductors (music) 21st-century pianists 21st-century Italian male musicians 21st-century Italian composers 20th-century Italian conductors (music) 20th-century pianists 20th-century Italian male musicians 20th-century Italian composers Musicians from Milan