Acclaimed as "a conductor you want to hear again and again," Roberto Abbado's crisp, dramatic music-making, instinctive lyricism and evocative command of varied composers and styles have made him an esteemed conductor among orchestras and opera companies today. He is both a sophisticated and energetic conductor, which combined with superb communicative skills have made him a favorite among musicians and public alike. A popular figure in the United States, Mr. Abbado has performed regularly with such orchestras as the Boston Symphony and Philadelphia Orchestra, and maintains continuing relationships with the San Francisco, St. Louis, Atlanta and Houston symphony orchestras, as well as New York City's Orchestra of St. Luke's. Notably, his most extensive relationship is currently with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, where he is of its first "Artistic Partners", a position that was recently extended into a second, three-year term.
Highlights of Mr. Abbado's 2007/2008 season include a performance series with the Israel Philharmonic, three subscription weeks with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra with a focus on symphonies of Franz Schubert, a return to Carnegie Hall with the Orchestra of St. Luke's featuring Joshua Bell, and appearances with the San Francisco Symphony, the Atlanta Symphony, the St. Louis Symphony and the Juilliard Orchestra. In opera, Mr. Abbado conducts the world premiere of Fabio Vaccchi's Teneke for Teatro alla Scala, La Clemenza di Tito at Teatro Regio di Torino, and a return to the Metropolitan Opera for performances of Verdi's Ernani.
Mr. Abbado's 06/07 season saw him conduct a three-week Beethoven festival with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, encompassing all nine symphonies and five piano concertos (with German pianist Lars Vogt), with whom he and the SPCO made a European tour in January 2007. Mr. Abbado also made a second tour of Europe with the distinguished Chamber Orchestra of Europe with concerts in London, Cologne, Naples and Turin. Last season also saw Mr. Abbado conducting the Italian premiere, in Caglieri, of Walter Braunfels opera Die Vögel (The Birds), and performances at Florence‘s Maggio Musicale for Rossini's Il Barbiere di Seviglia,. His North American engagements included the symphony orchestras of Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, San Francisco, and an appearnace at the Caramoor Festival with the Orchestra of St. Luke's and at the Grand Teton Music Festival in July. In Europe he made his debut with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, in addition to engagements with the Orquesta Nacional de España (Madrid), and, in Italy, several programs with the Filarmonica della Scala (Milan), l'Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Orchestra Nazionale della RAI (Turin), and the Orchestra del Comunale di Bologna.
Born into a dynastic musical family, his grandfather was a famous pedagogue of violin, his father was director of the Milan Conservatory, and uncle is Claudio Abbado, the famous maestro, Roberto Abbado studied with famed conducting teacher Franco Ferrara at Venice's La Fenice and Rome's Academia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, where he was the only student in Accademia history to be invited to conduct the Orchestra di Santa Cecilia. As Chief Conductor of the Munich Radio Orchestra (1991-98) he made seven recordings with the orchestra, and has worked extensively elsewhere in Europe including the Royal Concertgebouw, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre de Paris, Dresden Staatskapelle, Gewandhaus Orchester (Leipzig), NDR Symphony Orchestra (Hamburg), Vienna Symphony, Swedish Radio Symphony, and Israel Philharmonic Orchestras. In his native Italy, he has particularly strong relationships with the great orchestras, and regularly conducts the Filarmonica della Scala (Milan), Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia (Rome), Orchestra del Maggio Musicale (Florence) and the RAI Orchestra (Turin).
Mr. Abbado made this North American concert debut in 1991 with the Orchestra of St Luke's at the Lincoln Center in New York. Since then he has returned regularly conducting many top orchestras. As a gifted accompanist conductor he collaborates with many of today's most respected soloists including violinists Joshua Bell, Sarah Chang, Kennedy, Midori, Vadim Repin, Gil Shaham, Vadim Repin, and pianists Alfred Brendel, Yefim Bronfman, Lang Lang, Radu Lupu, Andras Schiff, Mitsuko Uchida, Andre Watts, duo pianists Katia & Marielle Labeque, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, to name but a small number.
Well known for his work in opera, Mr. Abbado has led many new productions and world premieres, including the Fedora at the Metropolitan Opera (New York), I Vespri Siciliani at Vienna Staatsoper, La Gioconda, and Lucia di Lammermoor at Teatro alla Scala (Milan), L'Amour des Trois Oranges, Aida and La Traviata for the Bayerische Staatsoper (Munich), Simon Boccanegra with the Teatro Regio di Torino and Le Comte Ory, Attila, and I Lombardi for the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino.
Mr. Abbado is also well known as a passionate interpreter of modern and contemporary music. As a natural advocate for Italian composers, he frequently programs works by Luciano Berio, Bruno Maderna, and Gofreddo Petrassi, and contemporary Italians, such as Sylvano Bussotti, Niccoló Castiglioni, Azio Corghi, Luca Francesconi, Giacomo Manzoni, Salvatore Sciarrino, and notably Fabio Vacchi, for whom Mr. Abbado conducts the world premiere of his new opera "Teneke" at Milan's Teatro alla Scala this season.
Not limited to Italian contemporary music, he also explores the music of French contemporary composers Pascal Dusapin, Henri Dutilleux and Olivier Messiaen, Russian Alfred Schnittke, German Hans Werner Henze and, in part due to his extensive travels among North American orchestras, an eclectic assortment of this continent's living composers from Ned Rorem to Christopher Rouse, Steven Stucky and Charles Wuorinen.
A prolific recording conductor, Mr. Abbado has made several recordings for BMG (RCA Red Seal) including award winning performances of Bellini's I Capuleti e I Montecchi and Rossini's Tancredi. Most recently he recorded a recital disc of 18th and 19th Century arias with tenor Juan Diego Florez and the Orchestra di Accademia di Santa Cecilia, titled The Rubini Album. Other BMG releases include Don Pasquale with Renato Bruson, Eva Mei, Frank Leopardo and Thomas Allen; Turandot with Eva Marton, Ben Heppner and Margaret Price and a disc of ballet music from Verdi operas. He has also recorded the two Liszt Piano Concerti with soloist Gerhard Oppitz; a collection of great tenor arias with Ben Happner and a CD of opera scenes with Carol Vaness, both with the Münchner Rundfunkorchester. For Decca, he has recorded Verismo Arias with Mirella Freni. His most recent release for the Stradivarius Label is of two world premiere recordings by contemporary Italian composer Luca Francesconi - Cobalt, Scarlet, and Rest. On DVD, Deutsche Grammophon has recently released Fedora with Mirella Freni and Placido Domingo from the Metropolitan Opera New York.
