Everything about Riccardo Muti totally explained
Riccardo Muti (b.
July 28,
1941) is an
Italian conductor known for his work as
music director of
La Scala opera house in
Milan and with the
Philadelphia Orchestra. On
May 5,
2008, it was announced that Muti would be the new
Music Director of the
Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Biography
Muti was born in
Naples,
Italy, where his father was a doctor and an amateur singer; his mother was a professional singer. Muti studied piano in Naples at the Conservatory of San Pietro a Majella under Vincenzo Vitale. He was subsequently awarded a diploma in Composition and Conducting by the Conservatory "Giuseppe Verdi,"
Milan, where he studied with the composer
Bruno Bettinelli and the conductor
Antonino Votto. He has also studied composition with
Nino Rota, whom he considers a mentor. He was unanimously awarded first place by the jury of the "
Guido Cantelli" competition for conductors in Milan in 1967. From
1968 to
1980, Muti served as principal director and music director of the
Maggio Musicale Fiorentino.
Since 1971, he's been a frequent conductor of operas and concerts at the
Salzburg Festival, where he's particularly known for his Mozart opera performances. From
1972, Muti regularly conducted the
Philharmonia Orchestra in London. In
1974, he was appointed the orchestra's principal conductor to succeed
Otto Klemperer.
From 1980 to 1992, Muti was music director of the Philadelphia Orchestra, which he led on numerous international tours. In 1979, he was appointed its music director and, in 1992, conductor laureate. Muti stated that his approach was to remain faithful to the intent of the composer. This meant a change from applying the lush "Philadelphia Sound," created by his predecessors
Eugene Ormandy and
Leopold Stokowski, to all repertoire; however, many of his recordings with that orchestra largely seem to do away with its hallmark sound, even in the works of such composers as Tchaikovsky, Brahms, and other high romantics. His sonic changes to the orchestra remain controversial. Some felt he turned it into a generic-sounding institution with a lean sound much favored by modern recording engineers. Others believe Muti uncovered the true intention of the works, which had been covered in a silky sheen by Muti's predecessor. Since his departure from Philadelphia, he's made very few guest conducting appearances with the Philadelphia Orchestra, most recently in 2005.
In 1987, Muti was appointed principal conductor of the
Scala Philharmonic Orchestra, with which in 1988 he received the
Viotti d'Oro and with which he went on tour in Italy and in Europe. In 1991, he announced his resignation from the Philadelphia Orchestra at the end of the
1991-
1992 season. He was succeeded by
Wolfgang Sawallisch.
Muti has been a regular guest of the
Berlin Philharmonic and the
Vienna Philharmonic. In 1996, Muti conducted the latter at the closing of the Viennese Festival Week in a tour of the Far East to Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Germany, and the
Vienna New Year's Concert in 1993, 1997, 2000 and 2004.
Apart from La Scala, Muti has conducted operatic performances with the Philadelphia Orchestra, as well as productions in
Munich, at the
Vienna State Opera (starting with
Aida in 1973, followed by
La forza del destino in 1974,
Rigoletto in 1983,
Così fan tutte in 1994,
Don Giovanni in 1999,
Le nozze di Figaro in 2001), in
London, and at the
Ravenna Festival.
Muti is a regular guest conductor at the Vienna Staatsoper where he continues to conduct Mozart operas such as
Le nozze di Figaro and
Così fan tutte. He is to return to this opera house in 2008 with
Così fan tutte.
A special relationship connects Muti with the
Salzburg Festival, where the conductor debuted in 1971 with Donizetti's
Don Pasquale. In the following years Muti has been constantly present at the festival, conducting both concerts with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and opera productions, such as
Così fan tutte in 1983 and
Die Zauberflöte in 2005 and 2006. Muti also owns a residence close to Salzburg.
From 2007 on, Muti is the dominant conductor at Salzburg's
Pentecost Festival. He conducts opera productions and concerts with his
Luigi Cherubini Youth Orchestra.
Riccardo Muti guest-conducts the
Orchestre National de France every year.
In the USA, Muti has been a regular and popular guest conductor with the
New York Philharmonic. The orchestra's musicians have been reported as being interested in Muti as their next music director, both towards the end of the tenures of
Kurt Masur and
Lorin Maazel, but Muti has stated that he'd no wish to take on the position with the orchestra. On
July 18,
2007, the
New York Philharmonic named Alan Gilbert as its next music director, effective with the 2009-2010 season.
On
May 5,
2008, Muti was named the successor to
Daniel Barenboim as music director of the
Chicago Symphony Orchestra, effective with the 2010-2011 season. Maestro Muti will conduct a minimum of 10 weeks of CSO subscription concerts each season, in addition to domestic and international tours. He made his debut with the orchestra at the
Ravinia Festival in 1973.
Riccardo Muti is married to Christina Mazzavillani, who is the founder and director of the
Ravenna Festival. They have three children, two sons and a daughter.
La Scala controversy
In 2003, there were reports of artistic and programming conflicts at La Scala between musical director and principal conductor Muti and general manager Carlo Fontana. Muti didn't attend the press conference that announced the new 2003 season. The appointment in 2003 of Mauro Meli as La Scala's artistic director was intended to calm the conflict between Fontana and Muti.
On 24 February 2005, the La Scala governors dismissed Fontana as general manager and named Meli as his successor. The musicians sided with Fontana against Muti at this point in the dispute, and on 13 March, Muti stated that he'd refuse to conduct the La Scala orchestra from that point on. On
March 16,
2005, the orchestra and staff of La Scala voted overwhelmingly against Muti in a motion of no-confidence. Muti was forced to cancel a concert prior to the vote, and some other productions were disrupted at the theater because of continuing rifts with Fontana's supporters. On April 2, he resigned from La Scala, citing "hostility" from staff members.
Repertoire and recordings
With Philadelphia, his extensive recordings include the first Beethoven Symphony Cycle made for compact disc as well as critically acclaimed recordings of the symphonies of
Johannes Brahms,
Tchaikovsky,
Sergei Prokofiev, and
Alexander Scriabin as well as the less known works of composers such as
Giacomo Puccini and
Ferruccio Busoni.
Muti is considered one of the world's greatest conductors of the operas of
Giuseppe Verdi. He also led a series of annual performances of opera in concerts include the works of the composers
Verdi,
Puccini,
Mozart, and
Wagner. In 1992, Muti conducted performances of
Ruggero Leoncavallo's
Pagliacci with
Luciano Pavarotti. A recording was also made of these performances.
At La Scala, Muti was noted for exploring lesser-known works of the
Classical- and early
Romantic-era repertory such as
Lodoiska by
Luigi Cherubini and
La Vestale by
Gaspare Spontini.
Honors
Riccardo Muti was awarded a doctorate
honoris causa by the
Universitat de Barcelona on
13 October 2003.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Riccardo Muti'.
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