This event shook the world. People rushed to Berlin from near and far in order to feel part of world events during the next few drama-packed days, and to see with their own eyes a new reality that had long seemed unthinkable. Among them was Leonard Bernstein, who insisted on personally chipping his own piece of wall from the hard concrete as a souvenir.
The spirit of change associated with the fall of the Berlin Wall also characterised Claudio Abbado’s work with the Berliner Philharmoniker. When he gave his final concert as Chief Conductor in May 2002, it marked the end of a period of significantly fruitful creative work with many artistic highlights. The album released to mark the occasion brings together excerpts from their various recording projects with Deutsche Grammophon. Abbado had made numerous recordings with the orchestra during his 13 years in Berlin, adding up to no fewer than a remarkable 30 album releases. The range and diversity of repertoire on The Berlin Album reflects the conductor’s openminded and inquisitive approach to music.
DG wanted the cover design to echo Abbado’s complex personality by showing every aspect of his conducting language: gesture, facial expression and beat. The decision was therefore made to create a montage of rehearsal shots, in which the conductor is seen in casual dress, reflecting the fact that he saw himself as part of the orchestra, as he also proved by quickly replacing the use of the formal German “Sie” style of address with the friendlier “Du” when talking to his fellow musicians.
It’s thanks to photographer Cordula Groth that we have such intimate glimpses of moments traditionally hidden from audiences. As the wife of one of the Philharmoniker’s players, she was perceived by Abbado less as a photojournalist and more as a member of the orchestra’s extended family. Groth’s series of portraits testifies to Abbado’s unaffected but passionate way of making music with “his” Berliners. You can find more of her work in two German publications on Abbado – Das Berliner Philharmonische Orchester und Claudio Abbado, a lavishly illustrated volume published by Nicolai Verlag of Berlin in 1994, and Claudio Abbado: Die Anderen in der Stille hören by Frithjof Hager, published by Suhrkamp Verlag in 2000.
DG’s graphic designer chose to use an O-card – a cardboard sleeve open at both ends that slips over the jewel case – as a special decorative element for the 2-CD album. The letters ABBADO were punched out of this outer sleeve in a large blocky type so that when it was in place, the conductor portraits on the booklet cover beneath were revealed. Sliding the O-card on and off the jewel case created a visual effect similar to that of a flipbook!
