Riccardo Muti Appointed Music Director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Riccardo Muti Appointed Music Director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Maestro Muti begins his tenure with the CSO in 2010-2011 season

CHICAGO, May 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association -- with the unanimous approval from its Board of Trustees and overwhelming support from the musicians of the CSO -- appointed world-renowned conductor Riccardo Muti as its 10th music director. Maestro Muti will begin a five-year contract as music director in September of the 2010-2011 season. He will conduct a minimum of 10 weeks of CSO subscription concerts each season, in addition to domestic and international tours.

(Photo:

http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080505/AQM097)

As music director designate, beginning January 2009, Maestro Muti is expected to oversee auditions and planning for future seasons. He will lead the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in the Verdi Requiem at Symphony Center on January 15, 16 and 17, 2009. Maestro Muti will conduct two subscription weeks in the 2009-2010 season.

"From the moment Maestro Muti took the podium earlier this season, it was immediately evident that something truly special was taking place," commented Deborah Rutter Card, president of the CSO Association. "The connection between Maestro Muti and our musicians was electric, and the music making was astonishing. We are thrilled to appoint Riccardo Muti, one of the most extraordinary and respected conductors of all time, to the position of music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. His unparalleled musicianship, steadfast commitment to the highest level of music making, and dedication to preserving the rich history of the CSO while continuing to propel the organization into the future perfectly complement the world-class stature of our Orchestra and its musicians. We look forward to Maestro Muti's tenure."

"I am very happy to be joining the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as their music director," commented Riccardo Muti. "It's interesting in life how timing is everything. For many years now, I have very much enjoyed my life as a guest conductor with many wonderful orchestras such as the Vienna Philharmonic, the New York Philharmonic, the London Philharmonia and the Bayerischer Rundfunk, as well as my work with young orchestra musicians in creating the Luigi Cherubini Youth Orchestra in Italy. Then the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, after an absence of 32 years, re-entered my life last September and the immediate connection with the wonderful musicians of the CSO made a very powerful impression. This musical strength just kept growing during our successful European tour. Sometimes when you least expect it, the timing and the situation unite. This has happened in Chicago, a remarkable city, and I very much look forward to continuing making music with the great musicians of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and to working with the strong Board of Trustees and the warm and welcoming staff led by Deborah Card."

For more information, visit http://www.cso.org/press

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Source: Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association

CONTACT: Raechel Alexander of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Association, +1-312-294-3093, alexanderr@cso.org; or Mary Lou Falcone,
+1-212-580-4302, mlfpr@att.net, for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Association

Web site:

http://www.cso.org/

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