{"id":16317,"date":"2023-09-29T15:03:27","date_gmt":"2023-09-29T13:03:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.riccardomuti.com\/2023\/09\/29\/16270\/"},"modified":"2023-09-29T16:13:07","modified_gmt":"2023-09-29T14:13:07","slug":"16270","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.riccardomuti.com\/en\/2023\/09\/29\/16270\/","title":{"rendered":"Riccardo Muti returns to Chicago as Director Emeritus for Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

At Orchestra Hall: The Latest Examples of Maestro Muti\u2019s Magic and the CSO\u2019s Brilliance<\/span><\/h3>\n

Hedy Weiss | September 27, 2023<\/span><\/p>\n

Something truly magical (and magnificent) happens when Maestro Riccardo Muti arrives on the podium to conduct the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. And although earlier this year he stepped down as the orchestra\u2019s music director after 13 seasons at the helm, happily he was named the CSO\u2019s music director emeritus for life. So he will be returning regularly to Chicago for at least the next three years and will continue his invaluable relationship with the remarkable musicians who, unquestionably, are among the world\u2019s finest. <\/span><\/p>\n

The latest proof of all this was on display in two different concerts this past Thursday and Saturday evening. <\/span><\/p>\n

The Thursday evening concert opened with two stunning but radically different works, both of which happened to be composed in 1909 by Russian composers \u2014 Anatoly Liadov and Igor Stravinsky. Then came Johannes Brahms\u2019 \u201cSymphony No. 2 in D Major,\u201d a rapturous work (dubbed his \u201cPastoral\u201d) composed in 1877. <\/span><\/p>\n

Liadov\u2019s hauntingly beautiful seven-minute piece \u201cThe Enchanted Lake\u201d was pure poetry. It began with the subtlest rumble, the sound of the harp and celesta and a dreamy airborne riff. It then grew denser and darker with the addition of the winds, horns, timpani and other percussion. The mood throughout was simply magical. And this brief but exquisite (and rarely heard) treasure got the evening off to a fine start. <\/span><\/p>\n

Next was the knockout suite from Stravinsky\u2019s \u201cThe Firebird,\u201d a work created for a ballet that was to be performed in Paris and produced by the impresario Serge Diaghilev. (Ironically enough, Diaghilev initially asked the less-than-productive Liadov to compose the score but ultimately turned to Stravinsky, the young genius who would be catapulted to fame by the piece.) <\/span><\/p>\n

The \u201cFirebird\u201d is, of course, a stunningly modern, richly dramatic, highly original work full of great rhythmic shifts and a brilliant use of an array of instruments. It opens with the low strings suggesting that something is brewing, with the brass answering the call. It\u2019s then joined by the clarinet and timpani, the piano and harp and a sudden excitement that sends the work off to the races. And Muti was flying all along the way with the firebird.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Dance of the Princesses followed, with a lyrical opening from the harp (played by guest harpist Julia Coronelli), joined by the strings, horns and winds. Then came the wild, fiery and frenzied Infernal Dance of King Kashchei that was followed by a total mood shift by way of the dreamy Berceuse. Stunning. A true theatrical wonder. <\/span><\/p>\n

The concert\u2019s second half was devoted to Brahms\u2019 beautiful symphony with its lushly lyrical opening that began with the low strings and used the timpani to suggest there was something stormy in the air. And that was just the start of a piece full of shifting dynamics and emotions that seamlessly swept from one mood to another \u2014 from the dreamily romantic to high drama, from a charming lightness to a fiery race, from a playfully rhythmic sequence to a big blast of sound and intense energy. And by the time it was over, I was left wondering why no choreographer has grabbed this score and set a ballet to it. <\/span><\/p>\n

This past Saturday night\u2019s concert (performed just before the Symphony Ball that was held at The Four Seasons Hotel and raised more than $1 million to help underwrite the CSO\u2019s educational activities), was another musical miracle, with Maestro Muti noting, \u201cWe have only guns and tears. We need music.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

The star of the program was guest violinist Leonidas Kavakos, whose breathtaking performance of Tchaikovsky\u2019s \u201cViolin Concerto\u201d was so dazzling that at one point some members of the audience erupted in applause and cheers to the point where Muti had to stop the music, comment briefly and then forge ahead with Kavakos and the orchestra in peak form. <\/span><\/p>\n

The Concerto\u2019s opening has a gorgeous singing quality, and it builds to suggest that something is coming. It is, in the form of a violin solo at once singing and pensive. And the unique warmth and golden tone of Kavakos\u2019 playing was stunning, as was the bravura speed, clarity and lightness of what followed. <\/span><\/p>\n

The orchestra backed every virtuosic turn by Kavakos, a musician who can shift easily from great delicacy to virtuosic storminess. His command of the violin is riveting, and he and Muti were in absolute synchrony throughout as the work moved from the delicately dreamy and personal, to a big bang from the orchestra, to Kavakos\u2019 solo riff that moved to a high-speed fury and served as just another reminder of his speed-of-light fingering and Tchaikovsky\u2019s absolute genius. <\/span><\/p>\n

Muti\u2019s opera roots were deftly revealed in the second part of the concert that was devoted to an inspired sequence of three Intermezzos by Italian opera composers: Umberto Giordano, Giacomo Puccini and Ruggero Leoncavallo. Completing the lineup was Giuseppe Verdi\u2019s Overture to \u201cGiovanna d\u2019Arco\u201d (\u201cJoan of Arc\u201d), one of his less heralded and infrequently performed works.<\/span><\/p>\n

Giordano\u2019s Intermezzo from \u201cFedora\u201d was brief, beautiful and lushly romantic. Puccini\u2019s Intermezzo to \u201cManon\u201d had the violas and cellos singing softly and with a familiar tragic beauty that shifted moods on a dime \u2014 from high intensity to dreamy lightness that \u201csang\u201d all the way through. <\/span><\/p>\n

Leoncavallo\u2019s Intermezzo for the tragic opera \u201cPagliacci\u201d \u2014 about an actor who murders his wife and her lover \u2014 moves from dark to light, lyrical to heated, and on to mournful, with Muti giving this orchestral work a human voice throughout. The piece\u2019s quiet awakening was simply exquisite. <\/span><\/p>\n

And then came Verdi, with a big opening blast followed by an almost bird-like sound. And that shifting of moods continued as the music moved from solemnity to lightness, then on to a riff of terror, to a full- orchestral frenzy, to a lively march and a build to high speed, with Muti clearly wrapped up in the drama all along the way.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hedy Weiss, wttw<\/em>, September 27, 2023<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOctagon\u201d Octogenarians: Philip Glass Composes a New Work of Friendship for Muti and the Chicago Symphony<\/span><\/h3>\n

Dennis Polkow | September 22, 2023<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMaestro!\u201d called out an enthusiastic, then-Chicago Symphony Orchestra music director Riccardo Muti to composer Philip Glass before the two embraced after a performance of the Glass Symphony No. 11 with the CSO in February of last year. It was a surprising summit between two near-contemporary legendary figures in music\u2014Glass eighty-six, Muti eighty-two\u2014whose paths had not crossed during their long careers.
\n\u201cNow I have to calm down,\u201d said Muti more quietly as they separated, each still holding each other\u2019s arms. \u201cYour piece gave me a lot of electricity! You promise that you will write a piece for me?\u201d
\n\u201cSure!\u201d responded Glass enthusiastically, without hesitation. \u201cYou have such sensitivity,\u201d Muti continued. \u201cThe wonderful colors you give to the orchestra. The second movement is really atmospheric.\u201d
\n\u201cThat\u2019s wonderful that you let that come out,\u201d said Glass, beaming. \u201cI was very, very happy,\u201d said Muti. \u201cYou know, I spent more nights with you than with my wife! Studying the score, of course!\u201d
\n\u201cWhen will I see you again?\u201d said Glass, walking with Muti, arm-in\u2013arm. \u201cI hope soon,\u201d responded Muti. \u201cThe thing is,\u201d said Glass, \u201cis that you took this piece to the end, and beyond.\u201d
\n\u201cThere is so much more there,\u201d said Muti. \u201cAlso, I am older. When you are older, you are more pensive. When you read the score, you have an impression. But going in, in, in more deeply, you find that behind the notes, there are so many other things.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Muti and Glass were both so pleased with the CSO performances of the Glass Eleventh Symphony that a recording of it was released in June as the centerpiece of Muti\u2019s last recording as CSO music director, \u201cContemporary American Composers.\u201d CSO-commissioned works by composer-in-residence Jessie Montgomery and CSO violist and composer Max Raimi were also included. <\/span><\/p>\n

Beginning in his new role as music director emeritus for life, which officially began September 1, Muti will open the 2023-24 season with three programs, across two weeks, which include the first subscription program of the season September 21-26, with music of Liadov, Stravinsky\u2019s \u201cFirebird\u201d Suite and the Brahms Second Symphony. Greek violinist Leonidas Kavakos will perform the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto and music of Giordano, Puccini, Leoncavallo and Verdi will also be performed for the Symphony Ball on September 23. <\/span><\/p>\n

The third program takes place September 28-30 and includes Mendelssohn\u2019s Symphony No. 3 (\u201cItalian\u201d), Richard Strauss\u2018 \u201cAus Italien\u201d and the world premiere of Glass\u2019 \u201cThe Triumph of the Octagon.\u201d Glass\u2019 piece will also be given its New York premiere at Carnegie Hall as part of a two-concert Muti\/CSO gala opening to its 2023-24 season on October 4 and 5. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou can see the octagon here in my office,\u201d Muti said, pointing to a large framed photo of Castel del Monte when we did a broadcast announcing the 2023-24 season last February. The first time we had an in-person interview in his downstairs studio at Orchestra Hall back in early 2011, Muti pointed to the same framed photo on his wall and related the story. \u201cIt\u2019s the thirteenth-century castle of Frederick II Hohenstaufen, in Puglia, in the south of Italy. When I first saw this castle, I was five years old. They brought me during the night from the Adriatic coast to the castle, all night long, in a horse-drawn carriage. And when they opened the curtain in the carriage, I saw this,\u201d Muti said, pointing to the castle. \u201cSince that moment, this castle has remained in my mind. The philosophy of Frederick has been always in my heart, all my life. He\u2019s been a sort of angel, a companion. A friend. He was a genius in everything. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBecoming older, I thought, one day I want to buy a little piece of land in front of the castle and I want to spend my last years sitting there and looking at the castle. I have read everything about Frederick Hohenstaufen. He was emperor of Germany, but king of Napoli. The father was the emperor, but the mother was a Sicilian princess. So because he was very smart, he preferred to live in the south of Italy than to stay in Germany,\u201d said Muti, tongue-in-cheek. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd so, I have a little property of stone houses very near the castle, actually, one kilometer from the castle, 500 meters from the front window, the hall of the throne. You can see here all of my property,\u201d he said, pointing to it on the framed picture. \u201cIt\u2019s very poor land, but full of poetry: nothing rich. And this is the last castle that now has world heritage. And this castle was built for the mind, to put together people of science, philosophy, mathematics. Not for war, not for prison, not for hunting. It is a mysterious castle.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s his last castle,\u201d Muti added. \u201cHe built so many castles in the south and north of Italy. This special castle is associated with the number eight, which is everywhere. There are eight towers and the number eight is repeated. It\u2019s sort of a symbolic, mysterious and\u00a0 metaphysical number.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

No doubt Glass heard the same story while visiting Muti\u2019s studio in February of 2022 while attending the final two CSO performances of his Symphony No. 11. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI spoke so much about this castle,\u201d admitted Muti. \u201cBut I didn\u2019t say to Glass, \u2018Write a piece of music about this.\u2019 Maybe he was fascinated by my description of this castle? The triumph of the octagon is the triumph of this castle of Frederick Hohenstaufen.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe number eight is the infinite to the Arabs. Frederick was not only a genius in everything: science, culture, the law. He was also the person, the king, who put together peace between Christians, Jews and Muslims. We would like to have somebody like him who is able to do something like this today! The castle was built with the influence of all three of these different cultures. It\u2019s a masterpiece.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

In a Composer\u2019s Note written for the world premiere of \u201cThe Triumph of the Octagon\u201d that will be published in the CSO program book, Glass relates that \u201cIt was a thrill to hear this great orchestra and conductor in the hall where I would visit as a student [at the University of Chicago] in the early 1950s. After those performances we began conversations about writing a new piece specifically for this orchestra with the initial idea to create an \u2018Adagio for Muti.\u2019 The final title of the work came from a suggestion from Maestro Riccardo Muti about Castel del Monte, a thirteenth century southeastern castle in Italy. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe mystery of this ancient place and the uniqueness of its geometric proportions, specifically its eight octagonal towers was an interesting catalyst; while I have written music about people, places, events and cultures, I cannot recall ever composing a piece about a building. What became clear was that I was not writing a piece about Castel del Monte per se, but rather about one\u2019s imagination when we consider such a place. I dedicate this work to Maestro Muti, in honor of his many successes as conductor of the CSO, and important contributions to the world of music.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a wonderful ensemble, this orchestra,\u201d Glass said to me at a reception following the final CSO performance of his Eleventh Symphony. \u201cI\u2019ve been listening to it since I was fifteen years old. I lived here from fifty-two to fifty-six, five years in all. It really is amazing, isn\u2019t it?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Did Glass notice the new bust of Fritz Reiner in the lobby, I wondered? \u201cYes!\u201d he said, wide-eyed. \u201cYou know, in those days, I couldn\u2019t go up to Reiner and talk to him. I was fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen years old. I would get a student ticket in the gallery\u2014you could hear everything up there\u2014and get on the Illinois Central and go home. The aura is still here. It\u2019s an amazing orchestra. In the fifties, we used to say that the best orchestra in America was Chicago. I still think it\u2019s true.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Dennis Polkow, Newcity<\/em>, September 22, 2023<\/span><\/p>\n

A champagne night of glittering music for the CSO and Riccardo Muti<\/span><\/h3>\n

M.L. Rantala | September 25, 2023<\/span><\/p>\n

There were light blustery breezes on Michigan Avenue the afternoon before the Symphony Ball for <\/span>financial supporters of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, a kickoff of the 2023\u201324 season. The pavement <\/span>in front of Symphony Center on Saturday was decked out in a bright red carpet and cheerful members of <\/span>CSO administration greeted patrons with gracious smiles, directing them to champagne, a photo wall, a <\/span>bright performance by a brass ensemble and more. <\/span><\/p>\n

Inside, the festive mood continued as folks made their way through Symphony Center enjoying free <\/span>champagne and taking in the wide array of fashion and jewelry displays on the smartly decked out <\/span>audience. <\/span><\/p>\n

But it was the music that made the biggest splash. The CSO is currently without a music director, <\/span>Riccardo Muti having retired at the end of last season. With his retirement came a new title: Music <\/span>Director Emeritus for Life. It is in this role that Muti is back in Chicago conducting several performances <\/span>to open the CSO season. He presided over a short but bracing concert that played to some of his <\/span>numerous strengths. <\/span><\/p>\n

The Sept. 23 concert opened with Tchaikovsky\u2019s Violin Concerto in D Major with Leonidas Kavakos as <\/span>soloist. Together, Muti, the orchestra and the soloist showed the audience that high artistry still rules <\/span>the day at Symphony Center. Kavakos\u2019 solo entrance was hushed and seductive, bathed in orchestral <\/span>warmth. The golden sound of his playing was entrancing, and at one point, after executing a deliciously <\/span>delicate high note, there was unexpected applause that created a humorous and brief break in the <\/span>proceedings, where violinist and conductor held a quick, whispered convo before resuming. <\/span><\/p>\n

Kavakos performed with shining virtuosity, delivering rapid passages with ease, and he devoted himself <\/span>to details with grace and charm. The orchestra rendered music full of Romantic excitement and <\/span>refinement, with Muti demonstrating both clear control and artistic flair. <\/span><\/p>\n

The next section of the concert featured music from three Italian operas, each an intermezzo from the <\/span>1890s. The one from \u201cPagliacci\u201d was first performed by the CSO shortly after it was written, while the <\/span>one from \u201dFedora\u201d was only introduced to the orchestra by Muti himself a few years ago. <\/span><\/p>\n

These miniatures were putty in the hands of Muti and his musicians. Giordano\u2019s \u201cFedora\u201d is not a well-<\/span>known opera. Phillip Huscher\u2019s program notes report that the opera was based on a play by Victorien <\/span>Sardou \u201cwhich was so popular that it gave its name to a hat.\u201d But this performance must surely have left <\/span>many itching to experience the full opera. The music was lush and inviting, with swelling strings, blustery <\/span>yet authoritative horns and sweetly gentle harp. <\/span><\/p>\n

There was much drama in the Intermezzo from \u201cManon Lescaut\u201d by Puccini. The music, at times almost <\/span>desperate, had aching beauty and lovely long arcs of passion. It was both theatrical and restrained, <\/span>shimmering in the conclusion. <\/span><\/p>\n

The Intermezzo from Leoncavallo\u2019s \u201cPagliacci\u201d showcased the upper strings with crying sighs followed by <\/span>orchestra punctuation that was both emphatic and consoling. <\/span><\/p>\n

The concert closed with the Overture to \u201cGiovanna d\u2019Arco\u201d (Joan of Arc) by Verdi. Muti was adept in his <\/span>navigation of the stormy section, able to make it both bold and nuanced at the same time. Principal flute <\/span>Stef\u00e1n Ragnar H\u00f6skuldsson offered a mesmerizing cadenza later adorned by beautiful playing from all <\/span>the winds.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

The concluding section was big and bold, infused with blood and guts (in the opera, Joan dies on the <\/span>battlefield). There were great declarations in the brass and masterful etchings from the high strings. The <\/span>concert ended with excitement and satisfaction. And just maybe, a few champagne-induced headaches.<\/span><\/p>\n

M.L. Rantala, Hyde Park Herald<\/em>, September 25, 2023<\/span><\/p>\n

Review: Muti conducts \u2018Firebird\u2019 for a CSO opening night full of superb storytelling<\/span><\/h3>\n

Hannah Edgar | September 22, 2023<\/span><\/p>\n

Poor Anatoly Lyadov.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re thinking \u201cWho?,\u201d that\u2019s about right. The Russian composer was the Ballets Russes\u2019 first choice to write music for a choreographic retelling of the Firebird, a Slavic folk tale. He never did. One account claims Lyadov \u2014 who made up in talent what he lacked in work ethic \u2014 hadn\u2019t even bought his lined score paper by impresario Sergei Diaghilev\u2019s first deadline. The honor instead went to Igor Stravinsky, then an unknown, and the rest is musical history. <\/span><\/p>\n

The Chicago Symphony\u2019s program this week \u2014 its first of the 2023-24 season \u2014 pairs the \u201cFirebird\u201d suite we know and love with Lyadov\u2019s \u201cThe Enchanted Lake\u201d (1909), a short vignette he composed around the time he fumbled the \u201cFirebird\u201d commission. It\u2019s the CSO\u2019s second performance of \u201cThe Enchanted Lake\u201d in about as many years: then-music director Riccardo Muti realized the tone poem with relish in a fall 2021 program. <\/span><\/p>\n

Now bearing the very regal title of \u201cMusic Director Emeritus for Life\u201d and back on the podium through the end of the month, Muti did the same in Thursday\u2019s performance. The dreamy, impressionistic tone poem opts for atmosphere over formal development, but what sublime stasis it is. The fine-grained attention brought to certain orchestrational flourishes made this tranquil work purely gripping. The opening, with its whispered violin flutters and resonant lower strings, gave the illusion that the entire string section was being strummed like a giant harp. Meanwhile, the evening\u2019s actual harpist, Julia Coronelli of the Milwaukee Symphony, elevated the performance with her delicate touch wherever she appeared, as she has in guest appearances over the past two seasons. Maybe the day is coming soon when Lyadov is cited more often for the pieces he composed \u2014 most of them charming, vibrant miniatures like \u201cThe Enchanted Lake\u201d \u2014 than the one he did not.<\/span><\/p>\n

For now, though, \u201cThe Firebird\u201d blazes forth with its own glory, as it did on Thursday. Stravinsky\u2019s score has plenty of gossamer moments not at all far removed from Lyadov\u2019s \u201cEnchanted Lake.\u201d But on Thursday, Muti favored denser, more articulated tuttis throughout the suite. That undercut some of the mystique of the piece\u2019s inimitable opening \u2014 the creeping low strings and lapping harmonic glissandi ended up more of a mezzo-something than pianissimo \u2014 but it played better elsewhere, especially in a very oratorical Berceuse (with dignified double-reed solos by bassoonist Keith Buncke and oboist William Welter). <\/span><\/p>\n

The \u201cInfernal Dance\u201d is always a thrill live, but Thursday\u2019s exuberant reading was in its own class. The opening hits tore through the hall like gunshots, timpanist David Herbert\u2019s wooden mallet hits and Jennifer Gunn\u2019s sky-high piccolo cries lending the chords their piercing edge. <\/span><\/p>\n

From my vantage point, however, the most engrossing musical narrative of the night was the only work that wasn\u2019t programmatic: Brahms\u2019s Symphony No. 2. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFirebird\u201d might be a gold standard in orchestration, but Muti and the CSO so doted over color and balance that even Brahms\u2019s biggest-boned harmonies seemed built from a series of layered veils. The same articulate approach which found mixed effect in the Stravinsky engagingly teased apart Brahms\u2019s melodies and harmonies; the former, usually in thrall to the latter, captivatingly stepped forth as individual characters.<\/span><\/p>\n

That philosophy likewise urged an elegant Adagio non troppo movement to a more moderate tempo, reliably held down by the orchestra\u2019s rich, rounded middle voices. Muti maintained that momentum to support the winds\u2019 and low strings\u2019 lyrical lines, as if deferring to a singer\u2019s breath control. A spunky Allegretto grazioso brought out the essential, oft-missed humor of that movement; the moment its endearingly naive principal theme, sung with ardor by oboist William Welter, is shunted aside by a dancehall romp in the violins was totally spot-on. <\/span><\/p>\n

The fourth movement had the unreserved yet ceremonial joy of a wedding, the glittering festivities not at all bracketed by its grandeur. No wonder it inspired Brahms\u2019s peers so: early on, a prominent clarinet flourish (played by John Bruce Yeh, sitting principal for this program, with his usual infectious vivacity) prefigures the solo for that instrument in the last movement of Dvorak\u2019s \u201cNew World\u201d Symphony, and a few minutes later, a sotto voce C-minor chorale in woodwinds and trombones briefly transports listeners to the opening of Mahler\u2019s First \u2014 except that symphony was written a decade later. Any standout interpretation approaches deeply familiar music with new eyes and an open heart; Thursday\u2019s Brahms did exactly that, replicating the awe these composers must have felt hearing those twists more than a century ago. <\/span><\/p>\n

This program was also something of a testing ground for Mark Almond, the CSO\u2019s new principal horn. I\u2019m not a fan of comparing artists against one another \u2014 it\u2019s usually done in poor taste and misses a whole lot of nuance. But on the basis of Almond\u2019s appearances with the orchestra last season and Thursday\u2019s concert, he represents a notable departure from the muscularity and solo spectacle of his predecessors, whose sound streaked over the CSO like a comet. Instead, Almond\u2019s voice tends to expand from within the orchestra, an organ in the organism. Some lines begged to be seized more decisively on Thursday, as in the quiet yet commanding transition into the \u201cFirebird\u201d finale. But others benefited from that light touch, like the graceful gestures traded off with bassoon just before the end of the first movement of the Brahms. <\/span><\/p>\n

Almond is not the only recent arrival. Long one of the most substitute-heavy sections in the orchestra, the CSO basses brought onboard Ian Hallas, Alexander Horton and Andrew Sommer. Briefly onstage to deliver Muti\u2019s score to his stand before downbeat was Justin Vibbard, the new principal librarian. And the CSO lengthened its list of preternaturally young hires with Danny Yehun Jin, the assistant principal second violin and a recent graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music. During final bows, Muti fondly welcomed him with a trademark slap on the cheek.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hannah Edgar, Chicago Tribune<\/em>, September 22, 2023<\/span><\/p>\n

Seems like fabulous old times as CSO, Riccardo Muti combine for familiar works<\/span><\/h3>\n

Kyle MacMillan | September 22, 2023<\/span><\/p>\n

When the Chicago Symphony Orchestra opened its 2023-24 season Thursday evening, it felt like d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu. Or a kind of pushing off the future, at least for the moment. <\/span><\/p>\n

Even though Riccardo Muti stepped down in June after 13 years as the orchestra\u2019s music director, there he was back on the podium, as he will be for next week\u2019s set of concerts as well, as though nothing had changed. <\/span><\/p>\n

But, of course, things have changed. The CSO is continuing its search for Muti\u2019s replacement with no announced timeline for its completion, and nearly 30 guest conductors, all or some possible music-director candidates, will lead the ensemble this season.<\/span><\/p>\n

For now, though, Muti, who received the title of music director emeritus for life just before the end of his tenure, is providing some much-needed and welcome artistic continuity and stability during this uncertain time. <\/span><\/p>\n

Looking fit and rested after turning 82 in July, Muti essentially just picked up where he left off. The audience knew what to expect Thursday evening, and he delivered the same kind of incisive, involving interpretations that marked so much of his music directorship. <\/span><\/p>\n

The CSO forewent a guest artist for this program, choosing to make this simply a union of conductor and orchestra revisiting three works they have performed together before, including two of the symphonic world\u2019s most enduring masterpieces. And that decision paid off in spades. <\/span><\/p>\n

The concert\u2019s centerpiece was the Suite from \u201cThe Firebird,\u201d the 1909-10 ballet that set Igor Stravinsky on the road to being perhaps the greatest composer of the 20th century. While still rooted to the Romantic era, it nonetheless offered a taste of the avant-garde with its insistent rhythms and raw energy. <\/span><\/p>\n

As he does so well, Muti gave rich voice to that dichotomy and maximized the expressive power of the work\u2019s other inherent contrasts. His muscular, sharp-edged attack on the third movement, titled \u201cInfernal Dance of King Kashchei,\u201d provided an electrifying and thrilling jolt after the careful restraint and atmospheric feel of the first two movements. <\/span><\/p>\n

Though the contrasts are less dramatic, much the same could be said of Johannes Brahms\u2019 Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 73. Muti and the orchestra basked in the work\u2019s alluring melodies, joyous spirit and voluptuous harmonies, delivering consistently beautiful, captivating playing. <\/span><\/p>\n

For the evening\u2019s opener, Muti returned to a little-known piece that he clearly fancies \u2014 \u201cThe Enchanted Lake,\u201d Op. 62, by Anatoly Liadov. The Russian composer was famously commissioned to write \u201cThe Firebird\u201d before apparently squandering the opportunity to the benefit of Stravinsky.<\/span><\/p>\n

Perhaps simply because it was a second hearing, this quiet, intimate and in its way impressionistic piece left more of an impact than it did in 2021, with Muti and the orchestra delivering a delicately evocative and affecting performance. <\/span><\/p>\n

One of Muti\u2019s major accomplishments was enhancing the already fine sound of the orchestra\u2019s strings, instilling more of a lyrical quality that was abundantly in evidence all evening, especially in the long first movement of the Brahms symphony. <\/span><\/p>\n

The concert also marked the arrival of six musicians, whose appointments were announced earlier this month. Most prominent is principal French hornist Mark Almond, an English player who left a mostly positive impression in his first outing. <\/span><\/p>\n

Many other musicians offered strong individual performances including principal oboist William Welter, principal cellist John Sharp, and Kelly Estes Karamanov, a fine keyboardist who provided nuanced contributions on piano and celeste. <\/span><\/p>\n

A new era will soon dawn at the CSO. But at least for now, with Muti back on the podium, the present is more of the past. And that proved to be a good thing Thursday evening.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kyle MacMillan, Chicago Sun-Times<\/em>, September 22, 2023<\/span><\/p>\n

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September 21<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t