He was one of the greatest of our time': Mariss Jansons pays tribute to Claudio Abbado
Claudio Abbado was one of the greatest conductors of our time, no doubt about it. Music was everything for him. I remember when we went to Japan together with the Berlin Philharmonic – it was around the time that his illness [stomach cancer, diagnosed in 2000] had started, and I was there in case something should happen, I would take over the concerts. But the conducting, the music helped him. He was so thin and frail, but when he was on stage it somehow helped him. He did Wagner's Tristan und Isolde, complete: it was amazing. I think it was conducting that meant he was able to survive his illness for so long.
He was a very honest, and a really serious and profound musician. As a man, he was very shy and modest. I had great respect for him. We got on very well, and talked about all of life, not just music.
I admired very much his work with young musicians, he supported them so much, and did so much for musical young people. And the orchestra in Lucerne was wonderful: they were there because it was Claudio, and they were ready to play for him because they respected and loved him. The idea of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra was very interesting, but an idea isn't enough, you have to fulfil it – and Claudio did.
Mariss Jansons was talking to Tom Service