Riccardo Muti to Perform Concerts with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra This January

By: Dec. 23, 2014
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Riccardo Muti, Music Director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, returns in January 2015 for several weeks of concerts with the CSO at both Symphony Center and Carnegie Hall. Muti's winter residency begins with performances in Chicago-on January 15, 16 and 17-of Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 2, featuring pianist Yefim Bronfman. The program closes with Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 1 (Winter Daydreams), part of the complete cycle of Tchaikovsky symphonies that Muti leads in the current season.

Concerts on January 22, 23 and 24 feature Scriabin's Symphony No. 1, which will be the first performance of this piece by the CSO, and Prokofiev's cantata Alexander Nevsky. The Chicago Symphony Chorus, along with mezzo-soprano Alisa Kolosova and tenor Sergey Skorokhodov, perform in the Scriabin work, while the Chorus and Kolosova perform inAlexander Nevsky.

There will also be a free screening of Sergei Eisenstein's 1938 film "Alexander Nevsky" on Tuesday, January 20 at 7:30 p.m. in Orchestra Hall. Muti and Phillip Huscher, CSO Program Annotator, will make introductory comments about the film and its relationship to Prokofiev's cantata, followed by the screening at 8:00 p.m. Tickets are free, but they must be ordered through the CSO box office by calling 312-294-3000.

The January 27 program includes Mendelssohn's Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage Overture, Debussy's La mer and Scriabin's The Divine Poem.

Return to Carnegie Hall with CSO and Chorus: On January 30, Muti leads CSO in the Mendelssohn, Debussy and Scriabin program. Bronfman is the featured soloist in Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 2 on January 31; Schumann's Symphony No. 3 (Rhenish) closes the program. The performance on February 1 features Scriabin's Symphony No. 1 and Prokofiev's Alexander Nevsky.

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra has performed in Carnegie Hall dozens of times; its first concert was in 1898 under Theodore Thomas. The Chicago Symphony Chorus has also made regular appearances there. The most recent tours to Carnegie Hall, in 2011 and 2012, were under Muti and included both the Orchestra and Chorus. Over the course of his career, Muti has conducted more than 60 concerts at Carnegie Hall leading several other ensembles, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra, the orchestra and chorus of La Scala and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.

Live Broadcast of Concert and Riccardo Muti Day on January 30: WFMT 98.7 FM in Chicago has declared January 30, 2015, to be Riccardo Muti Day and will broadcast recordings by Muti throughout the day. As part of the fourth annual Carnegie Hall Live broadcast and digital series, produced by WQXR and Carnegie Hall and hosted by WQXR's Jeff Spurgeon, the January 30 concert at Carnegie Hall will be broadcast live on WFMT 98.7 at 7 p.m. CST and by WQXR 105.9 at 8 p.m. EST. Because the Carnegie Hall Live series is syndicated by the WFMT Radio Network, the concert will also be carried by other stations across the country starting in April.

Deepening the CSO's Commitment to Chicago: On January 15, Muti will invite veterans, seniors and members of community groups to attend a CSO rehearsal. As part of his commitment to nurturing the next generation of musicians, he will again this season lead a rehearsal with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, the CSO's preprofessional training orchestra. They will rehearse selections from Scriabin's Symphony No. 1 on Monday evening, January 26. Tickets are free but must be reserved.

Invitation-Only Press Conference to Announce the CSO's 125th Anniversary Season in 2015/16: On January 26, Muti; Jeff Alexander, who assumes duties as president of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association on January 12, and Phillip Huscher, the CSO's program annotator, will announce the programming for the CSO's 125th anniversary season-the 2015/16 season-as well as the CSO's new Mead Composers-in-Residence.

Activities of Riccardo Muti Between Chicago Residencies: Since his most recent residency in Chicago, Muti has been active conducting other ensembles and has received new honors.

In October, as part of a ceremony in which the Vienna Philharmonic received the Birgit Nilsson Prize, Muti conducted the orchestra in the presence of H.M. King Carl XVI Gustaf and H.M. Queen Silvia of Sweden. Muti, who in 2011 was the second honoree to receive the Birgit Nilsson Prize, has conducted the Vienna Philharmonic annually since 1971.

From October 20 to November 2, Muti led the CSO on a tour that drew acclaim from audiences and critics alike in the cities of Warsaw (the CSO's debut in Poland), Luxembourg, Geneva (the CSO's debut in that city), Paris and Vienna (a four-concert residency at the Musikverein).

In November, Muti announced the founding of the Riccardo Muti Italian Opera Academy, whose first course for conductors, opera coaches and singers will be on Verdi's Falstaff, led by Muti in Ravenna, Italy, next July.

In December, Muti led a seven-city tour in Italy with the young persons' orchestra that he founded and with which he travels internationally-the Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini (Luigi Cherubini Youth Orchestra). The tour included opening the newly restored Teatro Giordano in Foggia and the newly restored Teatro Mercadante in Altamura.

During this period, Muti was also honored with the 2014 "Follaro d'Oro" award and was made an honorary citizen of the city of Capua, Italy, the hometown of the composer Giuseppe Martucci, whose works Muti has championed and conducted around the world. At a ceremony following a concert Muti conducted at his alma mater, the conservatory of San Pietro a Majella, the mayor of Naples presented Muti with the symbolic "keys to the city"-Chiavi della Città, a historic honor and the highest a citizen can receive.

Supporters of the CSO: The Chicago Symphony Orchestra is supported by tens of thousands of volunteers, patrons and corporate, foundation, government and individual donors. Bank of America is the Global Sponsor of the CSO. The CSO's music director position is endowed in perpetuity by a generous gift from the Zell Family Foundation which is also sponsoring the performances on January 15, 16 and 17, 2015. The Negaunee Foundation provides generous support in perpetuity for the work of the Negaunee Music Institute of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. CSO Tuesday series concerts are sponsored by United Airlines. The appearance of the Chicago Symphony Chorus on January 22, 23 and 24 is made possible by a generous gift from Jim and Kay Mabie. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra gratefully acknowledges generous sponsorship support of the Carnegie Hall performances by Margot and Josef Lakonishok. These performances are partially endowed by The Eloise W. Martin Endowed Fund in support of Chicago Symphony Orchestra Appearances at Carnegie Hall.

Photo Courtesy of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra



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