Abbado was born in Milan, Italy. His father played the violin and composed. He started to learn the piano from his father. He studied music at the Milan Conservatory and often had the opportunity to listen to famous conductors rehearsing, e.g. Arturo Toscanini, Bruno Walter and Wilhelm Furtwängler. He did not like the way that Toscanini shouted and yelled at the orchestra. He knew that he did not want to be like him. 