I am by no means a connoisseur of conductors. But I had a Deutsche Grammophon poster of Claudio on my wall as a teenager and subsequently as a student, probably more on account of his Bryan Ferry looks than my appreciation of his recordings. In fact, my favourite recording of the time was really Giulini's Beethoven Pastoral Symphony. But he was an icon and a hero to me in those days and went on to Berlin and La Scala, as well as establishing orchestras of musicians personally selected for excellence and was arguably as well as probably in fact the pre-eminent conductor of his generation, following Karajan from the generation before.
And so it feels as if he qualifies for that rather quirky tribute of an obituary on my website. It is an accolade awarded to only a select few.