New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ WNET.ORG) - Distinguished conductor Riccardo Muti's much-anticipated arrival as the tenth music director of the Windy City's world renowned Orchestra is celebrated on THIRTEEN's Great Performances in 'The
Chicago Symphony Orchestra Riccardo Muti Inaugural,' Wednesday, October 27 at 9 p.m. ET on PBS. (Check local listings.). Great Performances is a production of THIRTEEN in association with WNET.ORG, one of America's most prolific and respected public media providers.
The CSO concert, to be taped on October 14, will feature Paul Hindemith's 'Symphony in E-flat,' as well as the world premiere of Bernard Rands' 'Danza Petrificada,' a CSO commissioned work utilizing Mexican folk music and rhythms, and inspired by Mexican writer Octavio Paz's poem which describes a village and the phenomenon of music itself.
A passionate proponent of the music of Luigi Cherubini - the Italian composer revered by Beethoven and who mentored Berlioz - Muti will mark the 250th anniversary of the composer's birth with a performance of his 'Requiem in C Minor,' with The Chicago Symphony Chorus, under the leadership of Duain Wolfe.
Riccardo Muti's vision for the CSO-to deepen the Orchestra's engagement with the Chicago community, to nurture the legacy of the CSO while supporting a new generation of musicians, and to collaborate with visionary artists-signals a new era for the institution.
'Making great music with the musicians of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra is just the beginning,' commented Muti. 'The Chicago Symphony Orchestra and I will become ambassadors to the community and the world. We have a responsibility, as musical ambassadors, to serve our communities and we must not take this responsibility lightly. Chicago has a true treasure in the CSO, one that should be shared with as many people as possible.'
Born in Naples, Italy, Muti first came to the attention of critics and public in 1967, when he won the Guido Cantelli Competition for conductors in Milan. In 1971, Muti was invited by Herbert von Karajan to conduct at the Salzburg Festival, and has appeared there every year since. Muti has served as principal conductor of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, chief conductor of the Philharmonia Orchestra, music director of the Philadelphia Orchestra and music director of the Teatro alla Scala. In 2006, he was appointed artistic director of Salzburg's Pentecost Festival, and in 2010 he also becomes director of the Rome Opera.
Over the course of his extraordinary career, Riccardo Muti has conducted the most prominent orchestras in the world, from the Berlin Philharmonic to the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic to the Orchestre National de France. He made his debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the Ravinia Festival in July 1973.
A musical force in Chicago and around the world, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra has been consistently hailed as one of the finest international orchestras since its founding in 1891. In collaboration with renowned conductors and guest artists on the international music scene, the CSO performs well over 150 concerts each year at its home, Symphony Center, and in summer residency at the Ravinia Festival. The CSO's appearance on Great Performances is made possible by the generous support of The Grainger Foundation, Lake Forest, IL.
Great Performances is funded by the Irene Diamond Fund, Vivian Milstein, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, public television viewers, and PBS. Major support for the telecast is also provided by The Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Arts Fund and Vera von Kuffner Eberstadt. For Great Performances, John Walker and Cara Cosentino are producers; Bill O'Donnell is series producer; David Horn is executive producer.
Visit Great Performances Online at www.pbs.org/gperf for additional information about this and other programs.
