late 1990s, he recently had withdrawn from engagements because of poor health.The former music director of La Scala, the Vienna State Opera, the London Symphony and Berlin Philharmonic, Abbado in his last years most prominently worked at the Lucerne Festival and with chamber orchestras.
“The loss of Abbado is irreparable,” writes Norman Lebrecht, the English chronicler of conductors.
The New York Times’ obituary, by Allan Kozinn:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/21/arts/music/claudio-abbado-italian-conductor-dies-at-80.html?hp
A 2009 interview with Abbado by Tom Service, from The Guardian:
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/aug/08/life-in-music-claudio-abbado
Just a few days ago, Service reported that Orchestra Mozart, one of the ensembles Abbado helped develop in the Lucerne years, has suspended operations in the conductor’s absence:
http://www.theguardian.com/music/tomserviceblog/2014/jan/17/abbado-orchestra-mozart-shuts-down
ADDENDUM: The Berlin Philharmonic, which Abbado led from 1990 to 2002, has made available at no charge 17 videos of the conductor’s performances with the orchestra:
http://www.digitalconcerthall.com/en/info/claudio-abbado