Riccardo Muti, Music Director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Born in Naples, Italy, Riccardo Muti studied piano at the Conservatory of San Pietro a Majella under Vincenzo Vitale, graduating with distinction. He was subsequently awarded a diploma in Composition and Conducting from the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Milan, where he studied under the guidance of Bruno Bettinelli and Antonino Votto.
Muti first came to the attention of critics and the public in 1967, when he was unanimously awarded the first prize in the Guido Cantelli competition for conductors by a prestigious jury in Milan. The following year he was appointed principal conductor of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, a position he maintained until 1980. In 1971, Muti was invited by Herbert von Karajan to conduct at the Salzburg Festival, the first of many occasions which led to a celebration of forty years of artistic collaboration with the Austrian festival in 2010. During the 1970s, he was chief conductor of the London Philharmonia (1972 to 1982), succeeding Otto Klemperer. From 1980 to 1992, Muti was Music Director of the Philadelphia Orchestra, a post previously held by Eugene Ormandy from 1936-1980.
From 1986 to 2005, Maestro Muti was Music Director of the Teatro alla Scala in Milan. During that time, Muti premiered important productions of the Mozart-Da Ponte Trilogy and the Wagner Ring Cycle. Alongside the classics of the repertoire, he brought many rarely performed and neglected works to light, including pieces from the eighteenth century Neapolitan school as well as operas by Gluck, Cherubini, and Spontini. Poulenc's "Les dialogues des Carmélites" earned Muti the prestigious Abbiati prize from the critics. The culmination of his tenure as the Music Director of the La Scala organization was the triumphant re-opening of the restored La Scala theater on December 7, 2004, with a performance of Antonio Salieri's "Europa Riconosciuta". His tenure as Music Director of Teatro alla Scala was the longest in the history of that venerable institution.
Maestro Muti has an incredible knowledge of Verdi's repertoire and has conducted the operas Ernani, Nabucco, I Vespri Siciliani, La Traviata, Attila, Don Carlos, Falstaff, Rigoletto, Macbeth, La Forza del Destino, Il Trovatore, Otello, Aida, Un ballo in Maschera, i Due Foscari, and I Masnadieri.
Over the course of his extraordinary career, Riccardo Muti has conducted the most important orchestras in the world, including the Berlin Philharmonic, Bayerischer Rundfunk, New York Philharmonic and Orchestre National de France, as well as the Vienna Philharmonic, an orchestra to which he is linked by particularly close and important ties, and with which he has appeared annually at the Salzburg Festival since 1971. When Muti was invited to conduct the Vienna Philharmonic in a concert celebrating its 150 years, he was presented with the Golden Ring by the orchestra as a sign of special appreciation and affection, awarded to only a few select conductors. He conducted the prestigious and extremely popular New Year's Concert in Vienna four times, in 1993, 1997, 2000, 2004.
His recordings of works ranging from symphonic music and opera to contemporary compositions have won many prizes. In April 2003, the French national radio channel France Musique broadcasted "Journée Riccardo Muti", consisting of 14 hours of his operatic and symphonic recordings made with all the orchestras he has conducted throughout his career. On December 14 of the same year he conducted the long-awaited opening concert of the newly renovated La Fenice Opera House in Venice.
In 2004, Muti founded the Luigi Cherubini Youth Orchestra, which is comprised of young musicians selected by an international committee from more than 600 instrumentalists from all over Italy.
Riccardo Muti's social and civic conscience as an artist is demonstrated by his concerts performed in places symbolizing our troubled past and contemporary history, which he has conducted as part of the "Le vie dell'Amicizia" (The Paths of Friendship) project of the Ravenna Festival. Concerts were given in Sarajevo (1997), Beirut (1998), Jerusalem (1999), Moscow (2000), Yerevan and Istanbul (2001), New York (2002), Cairo (2003), Damascus (2004), El Diem, Tunisia (2005), Meknes (2006), Lebanon (2007), Mazara del Vallo (2008), Sarajevo (2009), Trieste (2010), Nairobi (2011), Ravenna (2012), Mirandola (2013) and Redipuglia (2104) by the La Scala Philharmonic and Chorus, the Orchestra and Chorus of Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, the Musicians of Europe United (a group of top players from Europe's major orchestras), and most recently with the Cherubini Youth Orchestra.
Innumerable honors have been bestowed on Riccardo Muti over the course of his career. He has been made Cavaliere di Gran Croce della Repubblica Italiana and has received the Verdienstkreuz from Germany. Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy awarded Muti the decoration of Officer of the Legion of Honor in a private ceremony held at Élysée Palace. He was also made an honorary Knight Commander of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II in Britain. The Salzburg Mozarteum awarded him its silver medal for his contribution to Mozart's music, and in Vienna he was elected an honorary member of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, the Wiener Hofmusikkapelle and the Wiener Staatsoper. Russian President Vladimir Putin awarded him the Order of Friendship, and the State of Israel has honored him with the Wolf Prize for the arts.
He conducted the Vienna Philharmonic in the opening concert for the celebrations of the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth in Salzburg at the Grosses Festspielhaus. In 2015, the annual collaboration between Riccardo Muti and the Vienna Philharmonic will reach 44 years.
During the 2007 Whitsun Festival in Salzburg, Muti began a five-year project with the Cherubini Orchestra dedicated to the rediscovery and valorization of the operatic and sacred musical heritage of the Neapolitan School of the 18th Century.
In September 2010, Riccardo Muti became Music Director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and was named Musician of the Year by Musical America. In February 2011, at the 53rd annual Grammy Awards ceremony, Muti was awarded two Grammy Awards for his live recording of Verdi's Messa da Requiem with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. This recording won the Best Classical Album and Best Choral Performance awards. In March 2011, Riccardo Muti was selected as the recipient of the prestigious Birgit Nilsson Prize, presented in a ceremony on October 13, 2011 at the Royal Opera in Stockholm in the presence of H.M. King Carl XVI Gustaf and H.M. Queen Silvia. In April 2011, he received the Opera News Award in New York. In May 2011 he was awarded the prestigious Spanish "Prince of Asturias" Prize for the Arts. The award was presented in Oviedo, Spain at a grand ceremony chaired by H.R.H. the Prince of Asturias. In July 2011 he was named an honorary member of the Vienna Philharmonic and in August 2011 he was named an honorary director for life at the Rome Opera.
In May 2012, he was awarded the highest Papal honor: he was made a Knight of the Grand Cross of the First Class of the Order of St. Gregory the Great by Pope Benedict XVI. In November 2012, he was awarded the "Vittorio De Sica" Prize for his contributions to music. Maestro Muti has been awarded many honorary degrees from universities in Italy and abroad. The most recent was in 2014 when he received an honorary degree from Northwestern University.
Read more about Maestro Muti at riccardomuti.com
Click here to sign in to Maestro Muti's Academy to see pictures and videoclips
Muti first came to the attention of critics and the public in 1967, when he was unanimously awarded the first prize in the Guido Cantelli competition for conductors by a prestigious jury in Milan. The following year he was appointed principal conductor of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, a position he maintained until 1980. In 1971, Muti was invited by Herbert von Karajan to conduct at the Salzburg Festival, the first of many occasions which led to a celebration of forty years of artistic collaboration with the Austrian festival in 2010. During the 1970s, he was chief conductor of the London Philharmonia (1972 to 1982), succeeding Otto Klemperer. From 1980 to 1992, Muti was Music Director of the Philadelphia Orchestra, a post previously held by Eugene Ormandy from 1936-1980.
From 1986 to 2005, Maestro Muti was Music Director of the Teatro alla Scala in Milan. During that time, Muti premiered important productions of the Mozart-Da Ponte Trilogy and the Wagner Ring Cycle. Alongside the classics of the repertoire, he brought many rarely performed and neglected works to light, including pieces from the eighteenth century Neapolitan school as well as operas by Gluck, Cherubini, and Spontini. Poulenc's "Les dialogues des Carmélites" earned Muti the prestigious Abbiati prize from the critics. The culmination of his tenure as the Music Director of the La Scala organization was the triumphant re-opening of the restored La Scala theater on December 7, 2004, with a performance of Antonio Salieri's "Europa Riconosciuta". His tenure as Music Director of Teatro alla Scala was the longest in the history of that venerable institution.
Maestro Muti has an incredible knowledge of Verdi's repertoire and has conducted the operas Ernani, Nabucco, I Vespri Siciliani, La Traviata, Attila, Don Carlos, Falstaff, Rigoletto, Macbeth, La Forza del Destino, Il Trovatore, Otello, Aida, Un ballo in Maschera, i Due Foscari, and I Masnadieri.
Over the course of his extraordinary career, Riccardo Muti has conducted the most important orchestras in the world, including the Berlin Philharmonic, Bayerischer Rundfunk, New York Philharmonic and Orchestre National de France, as well as the Vienna Philharmonic, an orchestra to which he is linked by particularly close and important ties, and with which he has appeared annually at the Salzburg Festival since 1971. When Muti was invited to conduct the Vienna Philharmonic in a concert celebrating its 150 years, he was presented with the Golden Ring by the orchestra as a sign of special appreciation and affection, awarded to only a few select conductors. He conducted the prestigious and extremely popular New Year's Concert in Vienna four times, in 1993, 1997, 2000, 2004.
His recordings of works ranging from symphonic music and opera to contemporary compositions have won many prizes. In April 2003, the French national radio channel France Musique broadcasted "Journée Riccardo Muti", consisting of 14 hours of his operatic and symphonic recordings made with all the orchestras he has conducted throughout his career. On December 14 of the same year he conducted the long-awaited opening concert of the newly renovated La Fenice Opera House in Venice.
In 2004, Muti founded the Luigi Cherubini Youth Orchestra, which is comprised of young musicians selected by an international committee from more than 600 instrumentalists from all over Italy.
Riccardo Muti's social and civic conscience as an artist is demonstrated by his concerts performed in places symbolizing our troubled past and contemporary history, which he has conducted as part of the "Le vie dell'Amicizia" (The Paths of Friendship) project of the Ravenna Festival. Concerts were given in Sarajevo (1997), Beirut (1998), Jerusalem (1999), Moscow (2000), Yerevan and Istanbul (2001), New York (2002), Cairo (2003), Damascus (2004), El Diem, Tunisia (2005), Meknes (2006), Lebanon (2007), Mazara del Vallo (2008), Sarajevo (2009), Trieste (2010), Nairobi (2011), Ravenna (2012), Mirandola (2013) and Redipuglia (2104) by the La Scala Philharmonic and Chorus, the Orchestra and Chorus of Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, the Musicians of Europe United (a group of top players from Europe's major orchestras), and most recently with the Cherubini Youth Orchestra.
Innumerable honors have been bestowed on Riccardo Muti over the course of his career. He has been made Cavaliere di Gran Croce della Repubblica Italiana and has received the Verdienstkreuz from Germany. Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy awarded Muti the decoration of Officer of the Legion of Honor in a private ceremony held at Élysée Palace. He was also made an honorary Knight Commander of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II in Britain. The Salzburg Mozarteum awarded him its silver medal for his contribution to Mozart's music, and in Vienna he was elected an honorary member of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, the Wiener Hofmusikkapelle and the Wiener Staatsoper. Russian President Vladimir Putin awarded him the Order of Friendship, and the State of Israel has honored him with the Wolf Prize for the arts.
He conducted the Vienna Philharmonic in the opening concert for the celebrations of the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth in Salzburg at the Grosses Festspielhaus. In 2015, the annual collaboration between Riccardo Muti and the Vienna Philharmonic will reach 44 years.
During the 2007 Whitsun Festival in Salzburg, Muti began a five-year project with the Cherubini Orchestra dedicated to the rediscovery and valorization of the operatic and sacred musical heritage of the Neapolitan School of the 18th Century.
In September 2010, Riccardo Muti became Music Director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and was named Musician of the Year by Musical America. In February 2011, at the 53rd annual Grammy Awards ceremony, Muti was awarded two Grammy Awards for his live recording of Verdi's Messa da Requiem with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. This recording won the Best Classical Album and Best Choral Performance awards. In March 2011, Riccardo Muti was selected as the recipient of the prestigious Birgit Nilsson Prize, presented in a ceremony on October 13, 2011 at the Royal Opera in Stockholm in the presence of H.M. King Carl XVI Gustaf and H.M. Queen Silvia. In April 2011, he received the Opera News Award in New York. In May 2011 he was awarded the prestigious Spanish "Prince of Asturias" Prize for the Arts. The award was presented in Oviedo, Spain at a grand ceremony chaired by H.R.H. the Prince of Asturias. In July 2011 he was named an honorary member of the Vienna Philharmonic and in August 2011 he was named an honorary director for life at the Rome Opera.
In May 2012, he was awarded the highest Papal honor: he was made a Knight of the Grand Cross of the First Class of the Order of St. Gregory the Great by Pope Benedict XVI. In November 2012, he was awarded the "Vittorio De Sica" Prize for his contributions to music. Maestro Muti has been awarded many honorary degrees from universities in Italy and abroad. The most recent was in 2014 when he received an honorary degree from Northwestern University.
Read more about Maestro Muti at riccardomuti.com
Click here to sign in to Maestro Muti's Academy to see pictures and videoclips