The rumors have finally been confirmed: Riccardo Muti will be the next conductor of the Chicago Symphony.

There are many excellent conductors around but few Superstars – and Muti is one of them. He has that mysterious combination of talent and charisma to excite both audiences and orchestras. When he left La Scala after a huge row in 2005, every major orchestra send emissaries to try to grab him.

The New York Philharmonic was able to sign Muti up as a principal guest conductor but could never get him to commit to the full-time job. They settled for the young American Alan Gilbert instead, as successor to Lorin Maazel.

Chicago became the only other serious candidate. They hired Muti for two weeks of concerts followed by a two-week European tour. By all accounts it was the tour that sealed the deal. The players knew they had the conductor of their dreams and at age 66 Muti realized he could find no better way to cap his career than to be music director of the Chicago Symphony. The only other directorship that Muti might have found comparable – the Berlin Philharmonic – is not going to be available; the members of the orchestra decided just weeks ago that Simon Rattle will be there for years to come.

Muti’s Approach Scholarly in Tradition of Toscanini
So what is it that Muti brings to the job? For many music-lovers he is known primarily as an opera conductor. He has had a long association with La Scala and he has conducted opera almost every summer at the Salzburg Festival since 1971. He has recorded virtually all the Verdi operas as well as major works by Bellini and Donizetti. He is well-known for conducting the operas of Mozart and has had an abiding interest in operas by some of the lesser Italians such as Cimarosa, Paisiello, Salieri, Spontini and Cherubini.

Muti also has major symphonic credentials. He has been music director of the Philharmonia Orchestra and the Philadelphia Orchestra (1980-1992) and he is a favorite conductor of the Vienna Philharmonic. He has conducted several of the VPO’s prestigious New Year’s concerts and often leads the orchestra on foreign tours.

My most recent experience with Muti was in Houston March 12th, 2006. He led the VPO in music by Schubert and Richard Strauss. The first half of the concert was devoted entirely to Schubert and it was disappointing; the “Rosamunde” Overture and the Fourth Symphony were beautifully played but lacked drama and personality. Then came Strauss’ “Death and Transfiguration”, a performance staggering in its beauty and power.

Muti is a scholarly conductor who believes in being faithful to the printed score. In opera he keeps his singers on a tight rein in matters of rhythm and phrasing and rarely if ever allows interpolated high notes. In the symphonic repertoire he takes the same approach – no exaggerated tempi or dynamics. But as his “Death and Transfiguration” in Houston demonstrated, his symphonic performances can be as thrilling as anyone’s.

Muti’s approach to conducting is clearly in the Toscanini tradition: be faithful to the score and the spirit of the composer but make sure the music lives and breathes too. Unlike Toscanini, Muti does not shout at musicians or break batons nor does he conduct from memory; he always has the score in front of him although he scarcely pays much attention to it.

And that ruckus at La Scala? Muti is a proud man and he is used to getting his way. Given the anomalies of musical politics – and every other kind of politics for that matter – in Italy the wonder is that Muti stayed at La Scala as long as he did.

Like his contemporary and fellow countryman Claudio Abbado, Muti has a deep-seated affection for Italy and he will always make time for engagements there, especially at his birthplace in Naples. He recently founded the Luigi Cherubini Youth Orchestra and returned to conduct it at the re-opening of the historic San Carlo Opera House.

Chicago Symphony Opts for Tradition over Innovation
Riccardo Muti is world-renowned as a Maestro of knowledge and maturity, a great conductor, but not an innovator. At a time when orchestras are looking for ways to create new audiences and make concerts exciting again, Muti would seem to be a traditionalist.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic, for example, grabbed 26-year old Gustavo Dudamel. This dynamic young Venezuelan is thrilling audiences all over the world with his energy and love of novelty. The New York Philharmonic hired 41-year old Alan Gilbert because of his interest in new repertoire. Robert Spano in Atlanta and David Robertson in St. Louis have been exploring new ways of making concerts fresh and entertaining.

In choosing Muti, the Chicago Symphony has apparently concluded that quality counts for more than novelty. Their music directors over the past half-century – Fritz Reiner, Jean Martinon, Sir Georg Solti, Daniel Barenboim – were all chosen for the same reason; they were the finest conductors that could be found.

The board and management of the Chicago Symphony have decided that a great orchestra deserves a great conductor. Presumably they will find other ways to be innovative. But just as in the Solti era, when the recordings start to flow from Chicago with the imprimatur “Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Riccardo Muti, Music Director” and when this great orchestra and their chosen conductor tour the capitals of the world, their expectation is that excellence above all will be recognized and appreciated.

Muti on CDs and DVDs
Muti has a substantial Discography but his DVD catalogue seems to be growing at an even faster rate. For many years he recorded exclusively for EMI and many of his EMI recordings remain in the catalogue. More recently he has made several recordings for DG. The largest selection of opera on DVD conducted by Muti is on the Opus Arte label with works by Rossini, Verdi and Mozart. Coming soon is a DVD in which Muti rehearses and performs Berlioz’ “Symphonie Fantastique.”

Recommended Recordings:

Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D major
Vadim Repin, violin/Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra/Riccardo Muti
DG 477 6596 (CD)

Rossini: “Semiramide” Overture
Hindemith: “Sancta Susanna”
Scriabin: Symphony No. 3
New York Philharmonic/Riccardo Muti (live)
DG Download only from their website

New Year’s Concert 2004
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra/Riccardo Muti (live)
DG 474 9002 (2 CDs); DG 073 0979 (DVD)

Verdi: “Requiem”
Cherubini: “Requiem” in C minor
Philharmonia Orchestra/Riccardo Muti
EMI 072 4358623925 (2 CDs)

Donizetti: “Don Pasquale” (1994)
La Scala Opera/Riccardo Muti
TDK-DVWW-OPDPSC 824121002213 (DVD)

Poulenc: “Dialogue of the Carmelites” (2004)
La Scala Opera/Riccardo Muti
TDK DVWW-OPDDC 824121002312 (DVD)
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