Claudio Abbado is dead

Claudio Abbado (1933-2014) is dead, aged 80. Nearly 15 years ago, he had cancer, but beat it. Last summer in Lucerne, he looked frail, sustained by the fire of doing what he loved. It was as if he were somehow invincible. But in many ways, he is immortal. We have him forever on recordings and on DVDs. The orchestras he founded  will go on, giving musicians a system created for and by musicians. Tributes will be everywhere. I can't add anything meaningful except to say that it feels like a light has gone out in my life, too, with his passing