distinguished Greek-born American conductor; b. Salonika, Greece, Jan. 6, 1903. He was taken to Switzerland at the age of 6, then to Berlin, where he studied composition with Kurt Weill. When the Nazis came to power in 1933, Abravanel moved to Paris and conducted ballet, and settled in the U.S. three years later. After conducting at N.Y.'s Metropolitan Opera, for Broadway musicals, and at the Chicago Opera Company, Abravnel became conductor of the Utah Symphony Orchestra in Salt Lake City in 1947. In the 32 years of his tenure, he built it into one of the finest symphony orchestras in the U.S. and introduced many modern works into its repertoire. In 1976 he underwent open-heart surgery; he retired in 1979.