Claudio Abbado, one of the most beloved conductors of his generation, died Monday in Bologna, Italy, at age 80. Claudio Abbado began studying violin and piano as a child, but soon became more interested in conducting. According to the NY Times obituary, “He was further encouraged when Leonard Bernstein came to Milan in 1949 to conduct a performance in which Mr. Abbado’s father was the violin soloist. Bernstein reportedly told the young musician that he had ‘a conductor’s eyes.’” In 1963, Abbado entered the Dimitri Mitropoulos Memorial International Competition for young conductors, jointly supported by the NY Philharmonic and Bernstein’s own foundation. The award was a one-year position as an assistant conductor to Bernstein at the New York Philharmonic. After that experience, Abbado’s began to be recognized as a conductor of great importance. Like Bernstein, fostering creativity in young orchestral musicians was hugely important to Abbado. He was the founder of several European training orchestras, including the European Union Youth Orchestra, the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, the Lucerne Festival Orchestra and the Orchestra Mozart. Maestro Abbado was a truly unique artist, and his music making will be sorely missed. #Bernstein #ClaudioAbbado #NYPhilharmonic
Posted on: Thu, 23 Jan 2014 19:36:10 +0000