Claudio Abbado was an Italian conductor (born June 26, 1933 in Milan, Italy; died January 20, 2014 in Bologna, Italy). He was the son of violinist, conductor, and teacher Michelangelo Abbado, and brother of pianist Marcello Abbado.
He was the music director of La Scala from 1968 to May 1986. He founded the Orchestra della Scala for the performance of orchestral repertoire in concert. From 1986 to 1991 he was music director of Wiener Staatsoper.
He was principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra from 1979 to 1987. In the US, he was principal guest conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from 1982 to 1986.
In October 1989, the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra elected Abbado as their chief conductor, to succeed Herbert von Karajan. Abbado held this post until 2002.
In 2003, he formed the Lucerne Festival Orchestra.
He is also founder and music director of the European Union Youth Orchestra (1978) and the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester (1986).
In 1988, Abbado founded the music festival Wien Modern, which has since expanded to include all aspects of contemporary art.
He has recorded a wide range of Romantic works, in particular Gustav Mahler, as well as modern works such as Arnold Schoenberg, Karlheinz Stockhausen and Luigi Nono.
From his first marriage in 1956 to singer Giovanna Cavazzoni, Abbado had two children: Daniele Abbado (born 1958), who became an opera director, and Alessandra (born 1959). His first marriage was dissolved. From his second marriage, to Gabriella Cantalupi, Abbado had a son, Sebastiano. His four-year relationship with Viktoria Mullova resulted in Mullova's first child, a son, the jazz bassist, Misha Mullov-Abbado.
Abbado's nephew, the son of his brother, Marcello, is the conductor Roberto Abbado
