Claudio AbbadoClaudio Abbado, conductor, died on January 20th, aged 80 THERE was, said Claudio Abbado, a certain sound to snow. It did not come from walking on it. If you stood on a balcony, too, you could hear it. A falling sound, fading away to nothing, pianissimo, like a breath. You could hear it only if you listened to what some supposed was silence. He had learned that skill from his maternal