MUTI’S BATON WILL AWAKEN THE MUSE

Maestro Riccardo Muti, one of the best conductors of  Rossini, Ciajkovskij and Stravinskij, will conduct the opening concert in the historic Ancona Theatre

The opening of Teatro delle Muse on October 13^th will link Riccardo Muti with the history of the city of Ancona: famous artists like him do not need any introduction, but often fame does not go hand in hand with the knowledge of how a person become what he/she is.

Before going into the details of what Muti will perform, together with the Philharmonic Orchestra  of Teatro alla Scala of Milan, let’s focus on the main phases of his career. He is famous anywhere in the world as one of the best contemporary conductors, thanks to the charisma and power of his performances, based on the faithfulness to the text. Muti’s repertoire is fairly divided between musical theatre and symphonic music. It ranges from the Italian masters of the Seventeenth century to the Eighteen century in Italy and Germany (his interpretations of Mozart are well known), the Nineteenth century symphonic music, the Romantic opera, Verdi and Wagner up to Puccini, Bartòk and Stravinskij.

Riccardo Muti was born in Naples on 28 July 1941. He began his artistic career studying the piano with  the great Vincenzo Vitale. He graduated in philosophy and obtained the composition and conduction diploma from the Conservatory of Milan, in the classes of Bruno Bettinelli and Antonino Votto, one of the most important masters of Arturo Toscanini’s generation. The first award that attracted the attention of the musical world was the "Premio Guido Cantelli" in 1967: he was the first Italian to be awarded this prize. Thenceforth Muti’s career, divided between operas and concerts, has continued without any standstill: from 1968 to 1980 he was the Director of Maggio Musicale Fiorentino; in 1971 he first participated in the Salzburg festival and his performances of Mozart would become part of the history of the Festival; in 1972 he conducted the Berliner Philharmoniker and was also asked to conduct the  Philharmonic Orchestra of London, of which he was appointed Principal Conductor, succeeding Otto Klemperer, Music Director  (1979), and Conductor Laureate (1982). He conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra in the US as Music Director from 1980 to 1992, succeeding another great artist, Eugene Ormandy.  He is a regular guest at the Berliner Philharmoniker and Wiener Philharmoniker. He has established a close recording co-operation with the latter, which mainly focuses on the classic and German Romantic symphonic music.  In January 1991 he conducted the opening concert of the Mozart celebration in Salzburg.

Since1986 Riccardo Muti has been the Musical Director of Teatro alla Scala. Thanks to him the Filarmonica della Scala has acquired a clear artistic identity, that is recognised world-wide. In collaboration with the Ravenna Festival (directed by Cristina Mazzavillani, whom Muti married in 1969), the Maestro has shown (with Filarmonica della Scala and the Coro Filarmonico della Scala) his civil commitment, witness the concerts held in the symbolic cities of the troubled contemporary history:  Sarajevo ('97), Beirut ('98), Jerusalem ('99), Moscow (2000), Erevan and Istanbul (July 2001). He is invited as a guest in the most prestigious venues. His career is marked by many prizes, academic awards and freedom of cities (from Sydney to Maiolati Spontini,  Milan and Busseto).

The programme chosen by Muti to celebrate the opening of Teatro delle Muse starts with the tribute to one of the main opera composers and most famous citizens of the Marche region, Gioachino Rossini. He will perform the Ouverture from Guglielmo Tell, perhaps the masterpiece of the “ Swan of Pesaro” and an opera that Maestro Muti has contributed to include in the present repertoire. This piece will be followed by Igor Stravinskij’s Le baiser de la fée (The fair’s kiss) and the solemn Ciajkovskij’s Symphony no. 5 in E minor op. 64. Le baiser de la fée is not very famous if compared to other pieces; this ballet was written by Stravinskij for Ida Rubinstein. It was inspired by and a tribute to Ciajkovskij, an author that Stravinskij loved very much, and written on the occasion of the 35^th anniversary of his death (1928). The ballet Suite will be performed during the concert.  Ciaikovskij’s 5^th Symphony will take the whole second part of the concert: the Russian composer was well know at the time, but this symphony was not favourably accepted. Ciaikovskij’s emotional conflicts and the continuous shifting from his existential pessimism to the temporary serenity can be easily perceived. This composition has a strong emotional impact and is one of the most famous symphonic works.

by Annalisa Pavoni