Claudio Abbado To mark the 25th anniversary of the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra, founded in Vienna in 1986-87 under the initiative of Claudio Abbado, Deutsche Grammophon is releasing a concert recording from Tokyo.
The performance, which took place in 2003 under the direction of Pierre Boulez—a connoisseur of 20th-century music—includes Wagner's Prelude to 'Tristan und Isolde' and Schoenberg's 'Pelléas und Melisande'. The concert was recorded in the presence of the Japanese Imperial Family. The GMJO is now considered one of the world's leading youth orchestras and was honored by the European Cultural Foundation in 2007.