Riccardo Muti

Born in Naples, Italy, Riccardo Muti is one of the preeminent conductors of our day. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s distinguished tenth music director from 2010 until 2023, Muti became the Music Director Emeritus for Life beginning with the 2023–24 Season.

His leadership has been distinguished by the strength of his artistic partnership with the orchestra; his dedication to performing great works of the past and present, including 17 world premieres to date; the enthusiastic reception he and the CSO have received on national and international tours; and 12 recordings on the CSO Resound label, with four Grammy awards among them.

Before becoming the CSO’s music director, Muti had more than 40 years of experience at the helm of Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (1968–1980), the Philharmonia Orchestra (1972–1982), the Philadelphia Orchestra (1980–1992), and Teatro alla Scala (1986–2005).

Herbert von Karajan invited him to conduct at the Salzburg Festival in Austria in 1971. Muti has maintained a close relationship with the summer festival and its great orchestra, the Vienna Philharmonic, for more than 50 years. He has received the distinguished Golden Ring and the Otto Nicolai Gold Medal from the Philharmonic for his outstanding artistic contributions to the orchestra. He has also received a silver medal from the Salzburg Mozarteum and the Golden Johann Strauss Award from the Johann Strauss Society of Vienna. He is an honorary member of Vienna’s Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, the Vienna Hofmusikkapelle, the Vienna Philharmonic, and the Vienna State Opera. In 2021, he received the highest civilian honor from the Austrian government, the Great Golden Decoration of Honor.

Muti has received innumerable international honors. He is a Cavaliere di Gran Croce of the Italian Republic, Knight Commander of the British Empire, Commander of the French Legion of Honor, Knight of the Grand Cross First Class of the Order of Saint Gregory the Great, and a recipient of the German Verdienstkreuz. Muti has also received Israel’s Wolf Prize for the Arts, Sweden’s Birgit Nilsson Prize, Spain’s Prince of Asturias Award, Ukraine’s State Award, Japan’s Praemium Imperiale and Order of the Rising Sun Gold and Silver Star, as well as the gold medal from Italy’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the “Presidente della Repubblica” award from the Italian government. Last month, during a special concert at the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV presented Muti with the Prize of the Ratzinger Foundation for his immense artistic contributions.

Riccardo Muti’s vast catalog of recordings, numbering in the hundreds, ranges from the traditional symphonic and operatic repertoires to contemporary works. Passionate about teaching young musicians, he founded the Luigi Cherubini Youth Orchestra in 2004 and the Riccardo Muti Italian Opera Academy in 2015. Through Le vie dell’Amicizia (The roads of friendship), a project of the Ravenna Festival in Italy, he has conducted in many of the world’s most troubled areas in order to bring attention to civic and social issues.

The label RMMUSIC is responsible for Riccardo Muti’s recordings.

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