In Sunday’s (8/21) Chicago Tribune, Mark Caro writes, “When the Chicago Symphony Orchestra traveled to Europe a few years ago, it returned home smitten with one of the world’s greatest conductors, and the feeling was mutual. The CSO was seeking a replacement for retired music director Daniel Barenboim when it invited Riccardo Muti to kick off the 2007-08 season with Symphony Center performances followed by a European tour with the orchestra. The following spring Muti was introduced as the CSO’s new music director. … This week the CSO will embark on another European tour, its first with Muti as music director,” stopping in six cities across five countries. “Over the next few days, 100 musicians (including seven non-CSO extras and substitutes), 40 of their guests and 16 others from the CSO (administrative staff, stagehands, security, photographer, doctor) as well as more than 30 patrons traveling in parallel—plus about 175 pieces of cargo weighing close to 20 tons—will arrive in Salzburg, the home of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the renowned Salzburg Festival and, for every summer since 1971, Muti. … The CSO’s and Muti’s reputations are such that European presenters were in competition to lure the orchestra to their festivals and concert halls this year.”
Posted August 22, 2011
