If you would like to vote for this cd please vote HERE

This is a recording of his very last concert - as a conductor of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, within the Lucerne Festival, on 23^rd August, 2013. The programme of that last concert featured Symphony No. 8 by Schubert and Symphony No. 9 by Bruckner; the latter is included on the album that will be released internationally on 30^th June, 2014 - the last album the maestro, Claudio Abbado, we all regret, left us.

No one must have imagined that the concert on 23^rd August, 2013 would be the last Claudio Abbado would conduct - although the maestro was 80 years old (a few days ago, on 26^th June, 2014, he would have turned 81): the release of the CD was probably synchronized with this anniversary, the first one without Abbado.

But Bruckner's Symphony No. 9 has something of a swan's song - it, too, was Bruckner's last symphony and it was left unfinished. We find ourselves witnesses of an exquisite performance - Abbado gave it all he knew about music, especially about the way music transcends time and space and turns into a mystical experience.

These are not just big words: I am certain that if you listen to Bruckner's Symphony No. 9, performed by the Lucerne Festival Orchestra conducted by Claudio Abbado, you will feel the same way.

And you will thus see why I have included this exquisite album in the Vote for the Best Classical Album of 2014 campaign. Because this album truly is one of the best albums of 2014 - and I am hoping this will be reflected in your evaluation within this campaign.

This is Cristina Comandaşu; thank you for listening to Music Box - the programme on Radio Romania Music that brings you the latest discographic news.