Organization

Conductor

Claudio Abbado

Singer

Baritone

Bryn Terfel

Soprano

Barbara Bonney

Orchestra

Berliner Philharmoniker

Others

Swedish Radio Choir

Eric Ericsons Kammarkör

Claudio Abbado conducts Brahms’s Requiem in Vienna

Vienna

Austria

Musikverein

For all flesh is as grass": a deeply moving performance. Abbado gets the best out of the entire cast, striking an especially urgent tone. Bryn Terfel's powerful voice stands out a little from the rest.

Claudio Abbado conducts the Berliner Philharmoniker in a solemn and intimate performance of Brahms's Ein Deutsches Requiem.

A "Human requiem" as Brahms liked to call it, Ein Deutsches Requiem breaks with tradition, using inspiration from the Protestant Bible of Luther. Brahms wrote the text himself, giving more importance to the living. A remarkable piece of sacred music, this work was composed soon after the genius of Hamburg's mother passed away (1865).

Two swedish choirs are gathered for this performance at the Musikverein in Vienna: the Swedish Radio Choir and the Eric Ericson Chamber Choir. Barbara Bonney's crystal-clear voice and Bryn Terfel's warm tone reply to the Berliner Philharmoniker, under the direction of Claudio Abbado, and enhance the emotion of this timeless masterpiece.

Claudio Abbado conducts Brahms’s Requiem in Vienna: Ein deutsches Requiem Brahms

Public

A German Requiem

Approved

This concert from Vienna with Brahms’ Deutsches Requiem – performed on the 100th anniversary of the composer’s death – is among the most memorable performances by the Berliner Philharmoniker under the baton of Claudio Abbado. The audience in the Golden Hall of the Musikverein apparently thought the same, and there was a long appreciative pause before the applause broke out.

The deep impression this performance made may be the result of a certain harmony between the intentions of the composer and the performance by the musicians. Brahms wanted to create a requiem “for the people” – that is, one which provides comfort rather than adheres to religious ceremony, thus a requiem in German rather than in liturgically correct, if incomprehensible Latin. A similar concern characterizes this interpretation, which with all its perfection and tonal beauty, radiates a feeling of humanity and empathy. 

For Claudio Abbado, this performance of the Brahms Requiem in this venue may also have had a biographical element. During his time as a student in Vienna, he attempted to sit in on the rehearsals in the Musikverein. As this was not permitted, he became a member of the choir and had the opportunity to experience the great conductors at close hand including – as a choir member for the Deutsches Requiem – Herbert von Karajan.

English

Claudio Abbado conducts Brahms’s Requiem in Vienna by Brahms, Frá (1997/1997), Hljómsveitarstjóri Claudio Abbado, Musikverein, Vienna, Austria

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