In Thursday’s (2/19) Chicago Tribune, John von Rhein writes, “As the Chicago Symphony Orchestra gears up for Riccardo Muti’s initial season as music director in 2010-11, much of its programming next season will honor the distinguished senior conductors who are stewarding the CSO through the long transition from the Daniel Barenboim era to the Muti era. Bernard Haitink will conclude his four-year tenure as principal conductor with the 2009-10 season, details of which the CSO announced Thursday. The Dutch maestro is to lead the orchestra on a nine-concert European tour in September before launching his November residency at Symphony Center with Bruckner’s Symphony No. 9 and Mendelssohn’s complete Midsummer Night’s Dream incidental music. He will return in June 2010 to wind up his tenure, and the CSO season, with a Beethoven festival that includes all nine symphonies. The orchestra will celebrate the 85th birthday of conductor emeritus Pierre Boulez with four weeks of concerts in January.” As music director-designate, Muti will conduct two subscription weeks in October featuring the music of Brahms, Bruckner, and Mozart. “By popular demand, the CSO will expand its ‘Beyond the Score’ series of multimedia programs to two performances of each program. Works to be explored are Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, Rachmaninov’s The Isle of the Dead, and Debussy’s La Mer.”
Photo: Riccardo Muti
Credit: Todd Rosenberg
