Various: Abbado/Sbyo Venezuela (Accentus Blu-Ray Disc)

Five years after first conducting the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra in their Venezuelan home, Claudio Abbado continues his commitment to this stunning ensemble in this first joint audiovisual concert recording.

Prokofiev’s extrovert Scythian Suite is a gift for the boundless energy of these young players, while the intricacy and anguish of Berg’s Lulu-Suite are an Abbado speciality, with soprano Anna Prohaska, in her Lucerne Festival debut, singing the heroine’s dazzling statement of self-justification.

The concert ends with an impassioned account of Tchaikovsky’s Pathétique, his final symphony, one of the most moving works in music history.

„Abbado ... draws everything from this orchestra - and everything this marvel requires is there.“ Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

„...a sound that, even in the dazzling glare of the brass, kept its razor-sharp edge and precise outlines. And so left room for incredible colours to emerge...“ Zentralschweiz am Sonntag