The Well-Tempered Ear

Muti adds Rome Opera post to Chicago Symphony Orchestra

By Jacob Stockinger

A brief news item today:

Riccardo Muti, the Italian maestro who will succeed Daniel Barenboim as the conductor and music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra starting in the 2010-11 season, has also just signed on as director of the Rome Opera, beginning in December 2010, which hopes to challenges the supremacy of La Scala in Milan.

Apparently the professional music world viewed Chicago’s snagging of the highly regarded Muti as a great coup that New York and others couldn’t bring off. This news just offers more proof of that.

It sure makes one want to make a trip to Chicago to take a listen and judge for oneself in Symphony Hall.

Hey, maybe the Madison Symphony Orchestra or some other local group, could offer a bus trip to a CSO concert the way the Madison Museum of Contemporary busses people down to the Art Institute or the Madison Opera arranges trips to the Chicago Lyric Opera.

In mid-October, Muti, now a principal guest conductor of the CSO, will come to Chicago to conduct Mozart’s “Haffner” Symphony, Bruckner’s Symphony No. 2 and Brahms’ “German” Requiem. (For more information, visit http://www.cso.org. The CSO is seen below in its home Orchestra Hall).

Personally, I would also like to see some local organization — may the UW School of Music or the Wisconsin Union Theater or the Madison Area Piano teachers Association – offer tickets and transportation to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Sunday afternoon piano recital series, which this season will feature Maurizio Pollini, Radu Lupu and Stephen Kovacevich, all of whom are unlikely to make it to a market like Madison very soon.

Does anybody else share that interest?

What do you think of Muti’s conducting?

Do you want or expect to go hear Muti in Chicago?

What is your favorite work on CD conducted by Muti?

The Ear wants to hear.