Club Abbadiani Itineranti

Club des Abbadiens Itinérants

Wanderer's Chronicle

 

Concerts of Berlin Philharmonic cancelled in Paris (February 2001)


Bravo Paris!

It had to be expected. After the public controversy between the concert agent André Furno and the new proprietors of the Salle Pleyel the concerts of the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Claudio Abbado which were scheduled for February 2001 have been cancelled. Beyond the artistic damage suffered by the capital (from which Rome has benefited as it has taken over the dates), it having been deprived of a major cultural event (not every day does one of the greatest orchestras in the world, one of the most important conductors and the best pianists get together to play all the Beethoven symphonies and his piano concertos in one week) I feel there are two points we have to dwell on. First the complicated relationship between Claudio Abbado and France and second musical life in France, as exposed by this sad affair.

 

Claudio Abbado's appearances in Paris have been marred by a whole series of incidents ever since the performances of „Simon Boccanegra „at the Opéra twenty years ago. These were for the audience brillant experiences, but much less so for the conductor. He complained bitterly about the orchestra - going so far as to not conduct a French orchestra ever since. Then there was the problem of „Carmen", when Liebermann was finally forced to give up the idea of Abbado participating as he refused to conduct the orchestra of the Opéra. More recently Ferrara was able to take over „Viaggio a Reims „, originally planned for the Théâtre des Champs Elysées. This time round it is Rome's turn to recuperate the Parisian concerts. I admit the reasons are completely different and in the two last cases at least it is not Abbado's fault. But nobody can prevent me from thinking that it should have been possible to find another concert hall in Paris for such a major event. Who does not dream of such a cast, even if modern planning makes it necessary to take decisions years ahead? Now the Paris audience will not have the pleasure Ferrara had in February - of discovering Abbado's latest vision of Beethoven. To be quite honest , Abbado, though respected by the critics and welcomed by the audience, is not very well known by the French - at least not by those who do not travel abroad. Paris never heard „Viaggio a Reims" nor „Boris" nor „Tristan" nor the Gurrelieder nor any of the great musical events of which Claudio Abbado was the inspirator. Would it not have been vital to have heard in Paris the marvellous „Pelléas" directed by Vitez? The list could continue ad infinitum. Claudio Abbado's approach to certain scores which has recently caused surprise (Mozart's religious works or Bach's Passion according to St. Matthew) is accesible to the French public through the radio or the record only, but not in the concert hall. Yet Abbado sounds better very often when heard directly and not through any intermediary. Naturally not everything can be put at the disposition of the Parisian public. Nor am I so naive as to think that it is so easy to organise concerts. But nevertheless I persist in thinking it is a great pity that French music lovers are deprived of what I think are memorable executions. I will always remember Henry Louis De la Grange who, having heard Mahler symphonies by Abbado only on records, was a little sceptical . He had never heard him in the concert hall. Once he had his opinion changed radically. He is now an avid spectator of all Mahler concerts conducted by Claudio Abbado. So let me express a wish: which French hall and which concert agency will have the intelligence to offer us „Cosi fan tutte" with the solists we heard in Ferrara?

 

The second point stems from the deplorable affair of the Salle Pleyel. I do not wish to enter the ring, but it seems to me that the present owners want to take advantage of their position (Pleyel being the only reasonable concert hall in Paris) to play the role of concert agents AS WELL, bypassing the traditional companies. I would only like to point out that this affair shows up cruelly the lack of an appropriate hall in Paris. It seems as if we are slowly moving towards a solution. But meanwhile, could we not follow the example of Lucerne which, while waiting for Nouvel's new construction, built a temporary hall with excellent acoustics and at a modest price? This sort of thing happens a bit everywhere nowadays - so why not in Paris? Also this affair shows us the limits of private enterprise, so praised in certain circles. A hall of such importance and with such a history falls into the hands of somebody so clumsy (to put it mildly) - and the whole of Parisian concert life depends on the diktat of this person. Such institutions must remain in public hands or at least in semi-public ones or in the hands of a foundation - in other words there must be a construction in which a control is ensured that really takes into account the PUBLIC need of culture. It is just unthinkable that a hall of such importance as Pleyel for Paris is run by a single person with all his or her whims, envies and desires. The question is: is classical music of public interest at all in these days of mass culture (see the polemics surrounding the future of France Musique)?

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