Abbado, Claudio

1933 - Born on the 26 of June in  Milan, Lombardy.

1958 - He won the Koussevitsky Competition establishing him in Italy.

1963 - He won the Mitropoulos Prize, after which he rapidly became known internationally as an orchestral

             and opera conductor.

1960 - He made his debut at La Scala in Milan.

1965 - He conducted the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in a concert at the Salzburg Festival.

1978 - He was founder and music director of the European Union Youth Orchestra.

1979- He served as principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra.

1986- He served as Music Director of the Vienna State Opera.

1988 - He founded the music festival Wien modern, which has since expanded to include all aspects

              of contemporary art.

2000 - He was diagnosed with stomach cancer and the treatment led to the removal of a portion of his

             digestive system.

2003 - After his recovery, he formed the Lucerne Festival Orchestra and their concerts have been highly

             acclaimed.

         - His son is the opera-director Daniele Abbado and his nephew, Roberto Abbado is also a conductor.

2004 - He returned to conduct the Berlin Philharmonic and performed Mahler's Symphony No.6 in a series

             of recorded live concerts.

2006 - His CD won Best Orchestral Recording and Record of the Year in Gramophone Magazine's awards.