Claudio Abbado

Claudio Abbado, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI (born June 26, 1933), is an Italian conductor. Claudio Abbado has served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, principal guest conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, music director of the Vienna State Opera, and, most recently, principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic orchestra from 1989 to 2002, when he retired from th... more

Claudio Abbado, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI (born June 26, 1933), is an Italian conductor. Claudio Abbado has served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, principal guest conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, music director of the Vienna State Opera, and, most recently, principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic orchestra from 1989 to 2002, when he retired from the position for health reasons. Born in Milan, Italy, Abbado was the son of the violinist and composer Michelangelo Abbado, who was his first piano teacher. After studies at the Milan Conservatory, in 1955 Claudio Abbado studied conducting with Hans Swarowsky at the Vienna Academy of Music. In 1958, he won the international Koussevitsky competition for conductors, which resulted in a number of operatic conducting engagements in Italy. In 1963 he won the Dmitri Mitropoulos Competition for conductors, allowing him to work for five months with the... less