Muti *Hearts* Chicago, Obama

Riccardo Muti, after his triumph in Verdi's Requiem the other night in Chicago, gave an interview to "Corriere della Sera" where he explained the reasons behind his admiration for the President Elect, his love for Chicago, the reason why he turned down the Music Directorship of the NY Phil in favor of the CSO and why Verdi's Requiem is so special for him.

Speaking from his 44th floor apartment overlooking icy Lake Michigan, Muti told the paper that

"America wants to be loved once again, and I consider the musicians of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, recently selected by Gramophone magazine as the best orchestra in America, as ambassadors of this new hope. Despite the fog over the lake, to me this looks like Spring".

He also endorses the tentative plans to create a Secretary of Culture cabinet position in the USA ("A revolution").

Re: his refusal to become Music Director of the NY Philharmonic Muti opined that

"right after my commitment here in Chicago, I'm going to conduct in New York. In the past, I was happy to be free from commitments, happy to work freely with the four or five orchestras closer to my sensibility (I've been working with the Wiener Philharmoniker for 38 years). Sometimes, there comes a moment when something 'clicks'. I had no other reason. My relationship with the NYPhil is splendid".

More on Chicago (that he feels is "going crazy" with anticipation for the Obama inaugural), Obama and America.

"I have known two Americas. The America I encountered when I took helm of the Philadelphia Orchestra when I was 39 years old: the old glorious America where the American flag was born, the city of Liberty Bell. Chicago is the city of the future, even in its architecture. It's like a Ferrari. Here you find Polish communities, Italians, Greeks, Mexicans: that's why the orchestra is so lively. These days the city is waiting for Obama, who used to be a Senator here. He narrated Copland's Lincoln Portrait, a piece that I conducted in Philadelphia with Michael Jordan as narrator"

And on Verdi's Requiem (that Muti discussed two years ago in London, too):

"I conducted the Requiem all around the world; I recorded it twice. Man and God are almost wrestling, it's much different from anything else in the Austro-German religious repertoire. The Requiem's roots are in our way of demanding, more than asking, that God takes care of us, since he carries the responsibility for our presence on this earth. Here, man does not pray passively, but there's a struggle, the Libera Me Domine scream is a scream of rebellion, that finale in C-major that unsettles you even if it's usually a luminous tonality, see Mozart's Jupiter or Beethoven's Fifth. That's Verdi's genius, he leaves you with a  question mark: will I be liberated by you? Will it happen eventually?"

A little video of the Obama performance of Copland's Lincoln Portrait is on Youtube:

Comments

[Sior]

It's endearing that Muti gets a thrill out of the fact that American orchestras are ethnically diverse. You'd think by this age and level of experience, the man who has seen it all wouldn't be surprised at anything.

[Baritone Fink]

I'm curious to hear what he thinks about Chicago's famous deep dish pizza :-)

[Ghentlemen Prefer Blondes]

Muti's really infected by Obama Fever!

[Maria]

This idea of God being responsible for what is on earth is a convinient excuse for us doing nothing but pray and accept an almost predictable fate. What a lazy attitude for those who feel helpless and are too coward to dare to dream and change. This IS establishment. Who needs it now?
Liberate yourself, Mr Muti from such a belief. Your or our fate is not predictable.

[stickles]

Well said Maria. I was present at the concert, and by the end, I really felt that the question was not "will God answer our prayers?", but "are we, humanity worthy of salvation?"

[Hal]

Of course he is right about the CSO. It has long been a better orchestra than the NY Philharmonic. Needless to say, he couldn't say this in so many words, but he obviously thinks so.

[Kitty]

Chicago loves Muti, too!

[furst]

Muti's VRs Rawk!!

Um...OC...what precisely is Borodina thinking with that hair style? She was for period,depending on one's taste, somewhat hot. The weight gain of recent years, however, has not enhanced this status and this due is at best atrocious. It is true at her best she could not hope to touch Frittoli and would be foolish to try but she could certainly do better than this.

[resor68]

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