Martin Kettle first heard Claudio Abbado conduct 45 years ago. He reflects on a lifetime of listeningClaudio Abbado and I go back a long way together. Forty-five years next month, in fact. Not that I can claim an acquaintance with the great man - though I have interviewed him once, where I recall we talked about Italian politics (Abbado is a quiet socialist) almost as much as we discussed Pelléas et Mélisande, which he was due to conduct. But I now realise that, as a sixth former in Leeds, I w...
Guardian Music — Martin Kettle first heard Claudio Abbado conduct 45 years ago. He reflects on a lifetime of listeningClaudio Abbado and I go back a long way together. Forty-five years ne... more info