Skip to content
Pursuits

Muti's Legacy: Respect Composers, Reject Revisionists

Italian conductor Riccardo Muti, 80, rehearses Verdi's "Un Ballo in Maschera (A masked Ball)" with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in Chicago on Wednesday, June 22, 2022. Muti, whose Chicago contract runs through the 2022-23 season, considers himself the descendant of strong Italian conductors reaching back to Arturo Toscanini and Tulio Serafin. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Italian conductor Riccardo Muti, 80, rehearses Verdi's "Un Ballo in Maschera (A masked Ball)" with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in Chicago on Wednesday, June 22, 2022. Muti, whose Chicago contract runs through the 2022-23 season, considers himself the descendant of strong Italian conductors reaching back to Arturo Toscanini and Tulio Serafin. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS (RONALD BLUM)
Updated on

Chicago (AP) -- In the twilight of his music directorship of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Riccardo Muti candidly outlined his legacy and implored musicians to remember his instruction on Giuseppe Verdi’s operas: use the 19th century scores without altered notes.

He urged them to reject modern directorial concepts seeking relevance.