181 minutes of pure orchestral bliss — Abbado's farewell to the throne.
Claudio Abbado conducted Beethoven’s symphonies on many occasions in the Philharmonie in Berlin. But only at the end of his tenure as chief conductor of the Berliner Philharmoniker did he decide to give a performance of the complete symphonies. It was left to audiences of his native Italy to witness these concerts in February 2001 in the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome.
Direction
Abbado's restrained, intimate farewell — every gesture deliberate.
Cinematography
Patient, reverent camerawork that knows when to simply observe.
Sound
The Berlin Phil's Seventh Allegretto will haunt your dreams.
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
These Rome concerts became legendary — Italian audiences had Abbado's final complete Beethoven cycle because Berlin never got it.
Abbado's late-period Beethoven rejected bombast for transparency; each repeat in the Fourth feels like a secret being whispered twice.
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