Riccardo Muti | |
|---|---|
 Muti in 2008 | |
| Born | (1941-07-28)28 July 1941 (age 84) |
| Alma mater | Conservatory of San Pietro a Majella, Naples Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory, Milan |
| Occupation | Conductor |
| Years active | 1963–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
Riccardo Muti (Italian:[rikˈkardoˈmuːti]; born 28 July 1941) is an Italian conductor. He is current music director of theOrchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini. Muti has previously held posts at theMaggio Musicale in Florence, thePhilharmonia Orchestra in London, thePhiladelphia Orchestra, theTeatro alla Scala in Milan, theSalzburg Whitsun Festival, and theChicago Symphony Orchestra. He was named Music Director Emeritus in Chicago in 2023.
A prolificrecording artist, Muti has received numeroushonours and awards, including twoGrammy Awards. He is especially associated with the music ofGiuseppe Verdi. Among the world's leading conductors, in a 2015Bachtrack poll he was ranked by music critics as the world's fifth best living conductor.[1]
Muti was born inNaples but he spent his early childhood inMolfetta, nearBari, in the long region ofApulia on Italy's southern Adriatic coast. His father, Domenico, was a pathologist in Molfetta, as well as an amateur singer and great music lover; his mother, Gilda, was a reserved and severe Neapolitan woman with five children.[2][3]
Muti graduated fromLiceo classico (Classical Lyceum) Vittorio Emanuele II in Naples, then studied piano at theConservatory of San Pietro a Majella under Vincenzo Vitale; here Muti was awarded a diploma cum laude. He was subsequently awarded a diploma in Composition and Conducting by theGiuseppe Verdi Conservatory, Milan, where he studied with the composerBruno Bettinelli and the conductorAntonino Votto. He has also studied composition withNino 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 and became, the next year, principal conductor and music director of theMaggio Musicale Fiorentino, a post he held for eleven years.
Since 1971 he has been a frequent conductor of operas and concerts at theSalzburg Festival, where he is particularly known for hisMozart opera performances. From 1972 Muti regularly conducted thePhilharmonia Orchestra in London and in 1973 he was appointed its principal conductor, succeedingOtto Klemperer.[4]
In 1979, Muti became the music director and principal conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra. In 1986, he became principal conductor of theFilarmonica della Scala, Milan, with which in 1988 he received theViotti d'Oro and toured Europe. In 1989 he conducted a live performance of Mozart'sDon Giovanni that was recorded on a DVD. In 1991, after twelve years as music director, he announced his resignation from thePhiladelphia Orchestra, effective at the end of the 1991–1992 season.
In 1995 he was the president of the jury of theInternational Composing Competition "2 Agosto".[5]
Muti has been a regular guest of theBerlin Philharmonic and theVienna Philharmonic. In 1996, he conducted the Vienna Philharmonic during Vienna Festival Week and on tour to Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and Germany; he most recently toured with the Vienna Philharmonic to Japan in 2008. Muti has also led the orchestra'sVienna New Year's Concert on seven occasions to date: in 1993, 1997, 2000, 2004, 2018, 2021 and 2025.[6][7]
Apart from his work at Milan'sTeatro alla Scala, where he was music director for 19 years, Muti has led operatic performances with the Philadelphia Orchestra and productions in the principal opera houses of Rome (from 1969), Ravenna, Vienna, London (from 1977), Munich (from 1979), and, finally, in 2010, New York. His work with theVienna State Opera has includedAida in 1973,La forza del destino in 1974,Norma in 1977,Rigoletto in 1983,Così fan tutte in 1996 and 2008,Don Giovanni in 1999, andThe Marriage of Figaro in 2001.
 | This article needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(April 2019) |
Muti first conducted at theSalzburg Festival in 1971 withDonizetti'sDon Pasquale (staged by Ladislav Stros). Muti has subsequently appeared regularly at the Salzburg Festival, conducting numerous concerts with the Vienna Philharmonic. After the death ofHerbert von Karajan in 1989, he took over the concert Karajan used to give with the Vienna Philharmonic on theFeast of the Assumption of Mary (15 August), a public holiday in Austria, and was considered by some as his potential successor, although he never assumed any official position.[8]
Opera productions Muti conducted in Salzburg includedCosì fan tutte (staged byMichael Hampe) from 1982 to 1985 and from 1990 to 1991,La clemenza di Tito (staged by Peter Brenner) in 1988 and 1989,Don Giovanni (staged by Michael Hampe) in 1990 and 1991,La traviata (staged by Lluis Pasqual, and designed byLuciano Damiani) in 1995,Die Zauberflöte in 2005 (staged byGraham Vick) and 2006 (staged by Pierre Audi, stage designed byKarel Appel),Otello (staged by Stephen Langridge) in 2008,Moise et Pharaon (staged byJürgen Flimm) in 2009, andOrfeo ed Euridice (staged byDieter Dorn) in 2010. In 2011, he conducted a new production ofVerdi'sMacbeth, which was directed byPeter Stein.[9] For the 2017 Salzburg Festival, he conducted Aida, directed byShirin Neshat. Muti also owns a residence close to Salzburg.
From 2007 to 2011, Muti was the artistic director of theSalzburg Whitsun Festival. He conducted productions of rare Italian operas from the 18th centuryNeapolitan School as well as concerts, with the Luigi Cherubini Youth Orchestra, which he had founded.
In July 2015, Riccardo Muti's desire to devote even more to the training of young musicians was realised: the first edition of the Riccardo Muti Italian Opera Academy for young conductors, répétiteurs and singers took place with great acclaim at Teatro Alighieri in Ravenna and talented young musicians, as well as an audience of music-lovers from around the world participated. The academy has as its purpose to pass on to young musicians Riccardo Muti's experience and lessons and to make the audience understand in its full complexity the path to accomplish an opera production.[10]
In the United States, from 1980 to 1992 Muti was music director of thePhiladelphia 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 predecessorsEugene Ormandy andLeopold 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 asTchaikovsky,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 favoured 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 has made very few guest conducting appearances with the Philadelphia Orchestra, once in 2005, and most recently in 2024 conducting Verdi's Requiem.[11]
Muti had been a regular and popular guest conductor with theNew York Philharmonic. The orchestra's musicians had reportedly been interested – towards the end of the tenures ofKurt Masur andLorin Maazel, and before Muti took the Chicago post – in having the conductor as their music director, but Muti stated that he had no wish to take on the position.[12][13]
Muti had first guest-conducted theChicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) in 1973 at theRavinia Festival but did not return as a guest conductor with the CSO until 2007.[14]Deborah Rutter, then president of the CSO saw him in Paris and persuaded him to come guest conduct and tour; he explained later, he thought he was too tired to start a "new adventure", but "immediately it was something that happened between me and the orchestra."[15]
In May 2008, the CSO named Muti its next music director, effective with the 2010–2011 season, with an initial contract of five years. His most recent contract extension, announced in January 2018, is through the 2021–2022 season.[14] In January 2020, the CSO confirmed that Muti is to conclude his music directorship of the orchestra at the close of the 2021–2022 season.[16] In September 2021, the CSO announced a revision to Muti's contract as its music director, with an extension of the scheduled closing date of his tenure to the end of the 2022–2023 season.[17] Muti announced that he will step down as music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the end of the 2022–2023 season.[18] According to classical music criticZachery Wolffe, his directorship in Chicago was an "enormous success" with "pristine yet intense, powerful yet graceful" performances of operas in concert, canonical orchestral pieces, new premiers, and "rarities of the past".[15] In June 2023, it was announced that beginning in the 2024–2025 season Muti would be named Music Director Emeritus for life, and continue occasional performances.[19]
In 2003, there were reports of artistic and programming conflicts atLa Scala between musical director and principal conductor Muti and general manager Carlo Fontana.[20] Muti did not attend the press conference that announced the 2003–04 season. The appointment in 2003 of Mauro Meli as La Scala's artistic director was intended to calm the conflict between Fontana and Muti.[21]
On 24 February 2005, La Scala governors dismissed Fontana as general manager and named Meli as his successor.[22] The musicians sided with Fontana against Muti at this point in the dispute, and on 13 March, Muti stated that he would refuse to conduct the La Scala orchestra from that point on.[23] On 16 March 2005, the orchestra and staff of La Scala voted overwhelmingly against Muti in a motion of no-confidence.[24] Muti was forced to cancel a concert prior to the vote, and some other productions were disrupted at the theatre because of continuing rifts with Fontana's supporters. On 2 April, he resigned from La Scala, citing "hostility" from staff members.[25][26]
In August 2009, Muti was said to be named the next music director of theTeatro dell'Opera di Roma, effective December 2010,[27] but the news given by the mayor (and therefore president of Opera di Roma)Gianni Alemanno was not true. Alemanno, instead, announced in October 2011 that Muti accepted an invitation by the Orchestra of Opera di Roma to become a "lifetime conductor" of Opera di Roma.[28]
On the night of 12 March 2011,Rome'sTeatro dell'Opera staged the first in a series of scheduled performances ofVerdi's operaNabucco, conducted by Muti. After the end of the chorus "Va, pensiero", which contains thelyrics "Oh mia patria, sì bella e perduta" ("Oh my country, so beautiful and so lost"), the audience applauded "heartily." Muti, breaking with opera protocol and the strict conventions of composer Verdi himself,[29] turned to the audience and delivered a small speech, referring to the severe budget cuts announced by theBerlusconi government[30] which would particularly affect the funding of the arts. He spoke of the need to keep culture alive in Italy, prompted, as he later stated, by the belief that "killing culture in a country like Italy is a crime against society. Culture is the spiritual glue that holds a people together."[29] He then invited the audience to participate in anencore of the "Va, pensiero" chorus – the invitation and the encore also a break from tradition for an opera performance.[31] The opera audience stood up and sang along with the on-stage chorus.[32] Muti recalls that "80 percent of the audience knew the lyrics" and sang along, while "some members of the chorus were in tears."[29]
On 18 March, the performance ofNabucco was repeated in front of the former Italian presidentGiorgio Napolitano and former prime ministerSilvio Berlusconi. Muti, who had stated that it had been the first time in his life that he conducted chorus and audience together and also the last,[29] on that occasion conducted the Verdi opera in the "orthodox" manner.[32]
Muti is married to Maria Cristina Mazzavillani, the founder and director of theRavenna Festival.[33] They have two sons, Domenico and Francesco, and a daughter, Chiara, who is married to the pianistDavid Fray.[34]
In 2010, Muti wrote an autobiography. The following year, it was translated and published in English asRiccardo Muti: An Autobiography: First the Music, Then the Words. Music critic John von Rhein of theChicago Tribune described Muti's memoir as "fascinating."[35]
| External audio | |
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 You may listen to Riccardo Muti conductingGioachino Rossini's operaWilliam Tell withLa Scala Opera Orchestra andGiorgio Zancanaro,Chris Merritt andCheryl Studer in 1988here on archive.org |
With the Philadelphia Orchestra, his recordings include aBeethoven symphony cycle, the symphonies ofBrahms andScriabin, selected works ofTchaikovsky andProkofiev, as well as less-known works of composers such asPuccini andBusoni.
Muti is considered one of the world's greatest conductors of the operas ofVerdi. He also led a series of annual performances of opera in concerts including the works of Verdi, Puccini,Mozart andWagner. In 1992, Muti conducted performances ofLeoncavallo'sPagliacci withLuciano Pavarotti. A recording was also made of these performances.
At La Scala, Muti was noted for exploring lesser-known works of theClassical- and early Romantic-era repertory such asLodoiska byCherubini andLa vestale bySpontini.
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| Preceded by | Music Director, Teatro alla Scala 1986–2005 | Succeeded by |
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