DVD:
Abbado and Pollini at Lucerne Festival

Maurizio Pollini joins Claudio Abbado for the 2004 Lucerne Festival.

When Claudio Abbado founded the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, he hand-picked every single member of the orchestra, uniting not only the world’s best musicians from youth orchestras but also members of the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Wiener Philharmoniker, as well as eminent instrumental soloists. Abbado appreciated the almost childlike joy of playing, the feeling of camaraderie, and the freshness of the collectively created sound – a spirit the recording from the 2004 Lucerne Festival captured perfectly.

The concert sets off with Gustav Mahler’s popular Symphony No. 5, which has become an international hit thanks to the Adagietto that could be heard in Luchino Visconti's film "Death in Venice". Following Abbado’s triumphant performance, the ovations and shouts of bravo at the end lasted almost as long as the final movement. For the second half, Maurizio Pollini joins the stage to explore the tremendous variety of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 with the crystalline polish of his playing and with an emotional impetuosity that presses visibly forward. There is no element in the music that remains untapped, no material that is allowed to continue to seethe in a state of inner turmoil.

"The playing was brilliant from the start… had gained in subtlety" The New York Times

Original title Claudio Abbado and Maurizio Pollini at Lucerne Festival
Genre Classical Music
Recording location Lucerne Festival
Production year 2004
Duration 107 mins
Video format NTSC 16:9
Audio format PCM Stereo
Distribution DVD EuroArts Music International GmbH
Composer Gustav Mahler, Ludwig van Beethoven
English title of music work Mahler: Symphony No. 5 in C sharp minor; Beethoven: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 4 in G major, Op. 58
Orchestra / Band Lucerne Festival Orchestra
Conductor Claudio Abbado
Soloist Maurizio Pollini (piano)