Claudio Abbado (born June 26, 1933) is a noted Italian conductor. June 26 is the 177th day of the year (178th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 188 days remaining. ... 1933 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Conducting is the act of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. ...

Abbado was born in Milan. He studied piano at the Milan Conservatory with his father Michelangelo Abbado, and went on to study conducting with Hans Swarowsky at the Vienna Academy of Music. Location within Italy Piazza della Scala Milan (Italian: Milano; Milanese dialect: Milán) is the main city in northern Italy, and is located in the plains of Lombardy, the most populated and developed of Italian regions. ...

In 1958, he won the Koussevitsky Competition, establishing him in Italy, and then won the 1963 Mitropoulos Prize, after which he rapidly became known internationally as an orchestral and opera conductor.

Abbado made his debut at La Scala in his Milan in 1960. He served as its music director from 1968 to 1986, conducting not only the traditional Italian repertoire but also presenting a contemporary opera each year, as well as a concert series devoted to the works of Berg and Mussorgsky. While at La Scala, Abbado also founded the Orchestra della Scala, for the performance of orchestral repertoire in concert. La Scala The Teatro alla Scala (or La Scala for short), in Milan, Italy, is one of the worlds most famous opera houses. ... The title of music director is used by many orchestras to designate the primary conductor of the orchestra. ... Alban Maria Johannes Berg (February 9, 1885 – December 24, Austrian composer. ... Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (Russian: Моде́ст Петро́вич Му́соргский) (March 21, 1839 – March 28, 1881; sometimes spelled Modeste Moussorgsky), was an innovative Russian composer famed for his colourful, exotic, and lush orchestral pieces dedicated to various subjects of medieval Russian history. ...

Abbado conducted the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra for the first time in 1965 in a concert at the Salzburg Festival. He served as Music Director of the Vienna State Opera from 1986 to 1991, with notable productions such as Mussorgsky's original Boris Godunov and his seldom-heard Khovanshchina, Schubert's Fierrabras, and Rossini's Il viaggio a Reims. The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra (in German: Wiener Philharmoniker) is the best known orchestra in Austria and one of Europes major ensembles. ... The Salzburg Festival is a prominent music festival in the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart The festival was founded in 1877 but was discontinued in 1910. ... Boris Godunov Boris Fyodorovitch Godunov (Бори́с Фёдорович Годуно́в) (c. ... Khovanshchina or The Khovansky Affair (Хованщина in Russian) is an opera by Modest Mussorgsky. ...

He was principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra from 1979 to 1987, and in 1989 he succeeded Herbert von Karajan as principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic, a post from which he retired in 2002. The London Symphony Orchestra (frequently abbreviated to LSO) is a full time orchestra based in London. ... Herbert von Karajan (April 5, 1908 – July 16, 1989) was an Austrian conductor, one of the most prominent of the postwar period. ... The Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra is one of the worlds leading orchestras. ...

Abbado has performed and recorded a wide range of Romantic works, and is also noted for his interpretations of modern works such as Schoenberg, Stockhausen and Luigi Nono. Romantic music is defined as the period of European classical music that runs roughly from the early 1800s to the first decade of the 20th century, as well as music written according to the norms and styles of that period. ... Arnold Schoenberg, Los Angeles, 1948 For the American music critic and journalist, see Harold Charles Schonberg. ... Karlheinz Stockhausen (born August 22, 1928) is a contemporary composer. ... Luigi Nono (29 January 1924 - 8 May 1990) was an Italian composer of contemporary music. ...

In 1988, Abaddo founded the music festival aWien Modern, which has since expanded to include all aspects of contemporary art. This interdisciplinary festival takes place each year under Abbado's direction.

Abbado is also well-known for his work with young musicians. He is founder and music director of the European Union Youth Orchestra (1978) and the Gustav Mahler Jugend Orchestra (1986).

He has received many awards and recognitions among which the Imperial Prize of Japan, Mahler Medal, Bundesverdienstkreuz, Khytera Prize, honorary doctorates from univeristies of Ferrara, Cambridge, Aberdeen, Habana. [1] (http://www.deutschegrammophon.com/abbado)