But who was the artist behind the camera? Ilse Buhs was born in Berlin in 1907 and trained there as a dancer, actress and singer, working at various venues in the city, including the famous Metropol Theater. She also completed a master’s degree in photography in 1940. Buhs focused mainly at first on actors’ portraits, but from 1948 onwards specialised in stage photography, documenting theatrical and operatic performances not only in Berlin but also in Vienna and Bayreuth. By the time of her death in 1994, she was venerated as one of the leading theatre photographers of the 20th century. She worked regularly for DG, especially in the 1950s and 60s, and the label’s archive houses a number of her fine portraits.
One of her photos was used again just recently, on the cover of a current DG product:
The spectacular portrait of Abbado and Argerich lay forgotten in the archive for a long time; it took until 2015 for it to be rescued and make its triumphant public debut on the cover of the Complete Concerto Recordings box set. As soon as this photograph, selected by product manager Anja Rittmöller, was combined with the equally striking typography chosen by designer Christine Pluschys, it was obvious – a star was born.
We can only speculate as to why the photo wasn’t used immediately on a cover after it had been taken. It was probably because it wouldn’t have worked ideally in conjunction with the famous yellow cartouche, a fixture of DG covers at the time.
Buhs had actually taken the picture when Argerich and Abbado were making their first album together – featuring works by Prokofiev and Ravel – which also happened to be Abbado’s debut recording for DG. However, a photo by Erich Auerbach was chosen for the cover on that occasion instead, as was also the case for the pair’s subsequent album of music by Chopin and Liszt. What both pictures have in common is that they present what are essentially headshots of Abbado and Argerich, therefore leaving space above them to accommodate the cartouche:
So what is it that makes this dual portrait by Ilse Buhs so special? Firstly, the balanced but complex composition of the picture: the microphone stands punctuate the background at regular intervals and provide a strong vertical element. At the same time, multiple diagonal lines of various angles add dynamism and energy to the picture. By its very nature, a square image such as this will always have a far more clearly defined centre than will a traditional rectangular portrait or landscape format. And it is precisely at the centre here that we find the pianist and conductor’s hands, so essential to both musicians’ artistry. The technical specifications of the kind of camera – medium format – used by the photographer enable a shallow depth of field which emphasises the foreground and so gives sitters a particularly three-dimensional appearance.
If composition and technique are the foundations of this picture, its true magic lies in the connection between Abbado and Argerich. The artists display a casual elegance in terms of their clothing, posture and attitude, their expression one of quiet seriousness. Buhs captured a moment of stillness and deep mutual understanding – a moment that requires no words, a moment at which these musicians are at one with themselves and with each other.
We have two other lovely pictures from the same series. In one the photographer has changed perspective by positioning herself on the other side of the piano.
In the other, Buhs focuses on the pianist, with the orchestra in the background:
A bluish hue is discernible in all three of these photos. This is to do not with filters, whether analogue or digital, but with the architectural surroundings. The photographs were taken in Berlin’s Jesus-Christus-Kirche, whose excellent acoustics made it a favourite DG recording location. The stained-glass windows along its side aisles are dominated by the colour blue – some of the abstract design can be seen in the background of a portrait of Herbert von Karajan, who made many recordings in this church with the Berliner Philharmoniker:
It was this space, then, that witnessed the first ever Abbado and Argerich Yellow Label recording. The two artists went on to make many more DG albums together over the years, but would only appear as a pair on two other covers. For their 2004 album, Marco Caselli Nirmal photographed them at the piano in Ferrara’s Teatro Comunale, capturing an informal, relaxed rehearsal atmosphere. Ten years later, Priska Ketterer immortalised a wonderful gesture of artistic friendship in a photograph taken during the final round of applause at a concert at the Lucerne Festival.
This performance from March 2013, released by DG the following year, proved to be the last recording Argerich and Abbado made together. The signs that the conductor was ill are there in the cover photo, and many who were lucky enough to attend his final concerts remarked on the haunting, almost transcendent quality of the music-making they experienced from a man nearing the end of his life. That quality can also be heard on the Mozart album.
Producer Sid McLauchlan, who supervised many of Abbado’s recordings for DG and so became part of his artistic “family”, remembers the Lucerne concert and the special relationship between Abbado and Argerich, which was based on mutual trust and respect, and here, for one last time, provided a source from which great art could flow.
