Abbado follows family footsteps
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7:30 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. March 25 and 2 p.m. March 26, Benaroya Hall, 200 University St., Seattle, $10-$67 (206-215-4747).
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He may have the right last name, but conductor Roberto Abbado is not resting on the family laurels.
Abbado, who makes his local debut with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra next weekend, is the 44-year-old nephew of the famed conductor Claudio Abbado, who now conducts the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and is one of the world's most admired symphonic conductors.
But the younger Abbado is not far behind. Indeed, he has been widely mentioned as a likely successor to Seiji Ozawa at the Boston Symphony Orchestra, among other potential posts; a recent performance with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra prompted one reviewer to call him "one of the world's hottest conductors," speculating that Abbado might succeed that orchestra's current music director, Hugh Wolff. (Wolff and the St. Paul performed in Benaroya Hall earlier this month, by the way, on the Visiting Orchestras series).
Abbado brushed all this speculation aside in a recent telephone interview, when he made it plain that he would rather discuss music than career opportunities.
"We have quite a musical tradition in our family," he explained, "and not only my uncle but my father and grandfather are quite well known as musicians. My father is best known as the director of the Milan Music Conservatory. I talked to him about my decision to become a conductor.
"I don't think it is an advantage for my career to have this name, although I am very proud of the family name. My uncle has never done anything to advance my career, and I would not permit this. My relationship with him is excellent, but I want to do everything myself."
Initially, the younger Abbado wanted to be an aircraft engineer, not a musician, but gradually the family's musical genes prevailed. He came to music rather late, as a 12-year-old beginner at the piano, and he caught up fast. At 15, when Abbado had the opportunity to conduct a children's choir and percussion orchestra, he knew he had found his future.
Abbado was still a student when Rome's Orchestra di Santa Cecilia invited him to conduct; only a year later, he was conducting his first opera, "Simon Boccanegra," with a big-name cast for the Macerata Festival and then for the opera of Verona. More and more opera engagements came his way; then recordings (four complete operas thus far, and several other recital discs, including one with Seattle Opera regular Ben Heppner). Concert engagements soon followed, and Abbado spent six years as music director of the Munich Radio Orchestra.
These days, he is content to be a touring guest maestro: "I have for the next two or three years many wonderful guest engagements, in Philadelphia, Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and also in Europe. I enjoy very much traveling with my wife, who comes with me to my concerts. I also have a daughter, Martina, who is 16 years old and plays the violin; she lives in Milan with my first wife."
Abbado's Seattle program is one he likes very much. It opens with a Cherubini symphony, which Abbado calls "classical in the style of early Beethoven, but you also can hear music that later Schubert will write. Beethoven himself admired Cherubini very much and called him one of the major composers of his time.
"We also have the Victor Herbert Cello Concerto (No. 2) with the very important cellist Lynn Harrell. And the Franck Symphony I like very much; it was quite popular until about 45 or 50 years ago. Now it is seldom played; it is considered maybe a little old-fashioned. It has such a beautiful combination of mysticism and lyricism, so many beautiful colors. I like putting these programs together, like making a new cocktail, and I hope this "cocktail" is very pleasing to Seattle audiences."