Happy 80th birthday Claudio Abbado!

Claudio Abbado celebrates his 80th birthday today. One of the most acclaimed conductors of our age, there can be few better ways to observe his technique than via a camera focussed on him throughout an entire performance of Beethoven's Symphony No 5 - so that's exactly what we're offering. 

The following film is a special feature from the new Blu-ray release of his Beethoven Symphony Cycle with the Berlin Philharmonic, issued by EuroArts Music in cooperation with RAI Trade and RAI – Radiovisione Italiana. (Copyright 2001 EuroArts Music International GmbH.) For more information about the DVD, visit Euroarts - or buy from Amazon.

And to learn more about Abbado, including links to a series of articles from the Gramophone Archive, visit his page in the Gramophone Hall of Fame.