Claudio Abbado - Brahms: 21 Hungarian Dances, WoO 1: No. 5 in G Minor. Allegro

Watch “Gala from Berlin 1997: A Salute to Carmen“ in full on STAGE , the new streaming service by Deutsche Grammophon: It’s a cliché to call a gala concert “star-studded“, but sometimes nothing else will do. On New Year’s Eve 1997, Claudio Abbado and the Berliner Philharmoniker welcomed five operatic stars, each at the youthful pinnacle of their career. Billed as “a salute to Carmen“, the concert opens with a mouthwatering selection of highlights from Bizet’s much-loved opera. But the wonders don’t stop there, as Mikhail Pletnev plays Rachmaninoff’s Paganini Rhapsody and Gil Shaham lavishes all his matchless artistry on Sarasate’s Carmen Fantasy. It ends with a flourish, as Abbado conducts Ravel’s Rapsodie espagnole – a great orchestra and a much-missed conductor, striking sparks off each other. Claudio Abbado & Berliner Philharmoniker - Brahms: 21 Hungarian Dances, WoO 1: No. 5 in G Minor. Allegro