Influential MSU composition professor H. Owen Reed dies at 103

Montana composer David Masl

anka, now a grey eminence in the music world at 70, was still searching for his musical voice in the 1970s when he came to Michigan State University. His life changed when he found a kindly but demanding teacher with a gentle Missouri accent, H. Owen Reed. “It’s one of those huge accidents of fate,” Maslanka said. “He was monumental in my growth as a composer.” Reed died Jan. 6 in Athens, Ga., at age 103. He taught at MSU from 1939 to 1976 and remained a vital presence almost until his death.

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Claudio Abbado 26 June 1933 – 20 January 2014

Claudio Abbado, a conductor whose refined interpretations of a large symphonic and operatic repertory won him the directorships of several of the world’s most revered musical institutions — including La Scala, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Vienna Philharmonic, the Vienna State Opera and the Berlin Philharmonic — died on Monday, January 20, 2014. He was 80.NYTimes Obit
Warm, loving and generous in his relationships, Claudio Abbado inspires tremendous devotion and loyalty in his loved ones.

Claudio Abbado, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI (Italian: [ˈklaudjo abˈbaːdo]; 26 June 1933 – 20 January 2014) was an Italian conductor. He served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, principal guest conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, music director of the Vienna State Opera, and principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic orchestra from 1989 to 2002. He was a Senator for life in the Senate of Italy from 2013 to 2014...Wikipedia