RICCARDO MUTI

'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.

Contents

Biography

La Scala controversy

Repertoire and recordings

Honors

References

External links

Biography

Muti, born in Naples, Italy, where he studied piano at the Conservatory of San Pietro a Majella under Vincenzo Vitale, and went on to win the Cantelli Prize for young conductors in 1967. From 1968 to 1980, Muti served as principal director and music director of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino.
Since 1971 he has been a regular participant at the Salzburg Festival, conducting operas and concerts, where he is 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.^[1]
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 Tchaikowsky, 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 has made very few guest conducting appearances with the Philadelphia Orchestra, most recently in 2005.^[2]
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.^[3]
Apart from La Scala, Muti has conducted operatic performances with the Philadelphia Orchestra, as well 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) and in London, and at the Ravenna Festival.
Muti is a regular guest conductor an Vienna's 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 conduction both concerts with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and opera productions, such as ''Così fan tutte'' in 1983 or ''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''.
In the USA, Muti has been a regular and popular guest conductor with the New York Philharmonic (NYP). The NYP 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 has no wish to take on either the NYP's music directorship or their new position of principal conductor.^[4][5]

La Scala controversy

In 2003, there were reports of artistic and programming conflicts at La Scala between Muti and general manager Carlo Fontana.^[6] Muti did not 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.^[7]
On 24 February 2005, the La Scala governors dismissed Fontana as general manager and named Meli as his successor.^[8] 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.^[9] On March 16, 2005, the orchestra and staff of La Scala voted overwhelmingly against Muti in a motion of no-confidence.^[10] 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.^[11][12]

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 Doctor ''honoris causa'' by the Universitat de Barcelona on 13 October 2003.

References

1. Enough!
2. Muti Returns to Philadelphia for a Reunion
3. New Year's Concert 2004, Vienna PO/ Muti
4. How America dropped the baton
5. Philharmonic to Add a Position at the Top
6. Dumbing down row at La Scala
7. New aria of peace at La Scala
8. Recriminations fly as crisis engulfs La Scala
9. Conductor downs baton at La Scala
10. Staff demand Muti exit in latest La Scala drama
11. Muti exits after a musical mutiny
12. Curtain falls on unhappy Muti at La Scala

External links

★ Riccardo Muti Official website

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★ Riccardo Muti biography at Sony BMG Masterworks