In Monday’s (7/8) Chicago Tribune, John von Rhein reports, “There doesn’t appear to be any shortage of prestigious prizes Riccardo Muti’s native Italy is prepared to bestow on him. The Chicago Symphony music director has won two more awards to add to his groaning shelf: the Pico della Mirandola special prize and the Premio Giustiniano for Arts and Culture from the city of Ravenna. Muti received the Pico della Mirandola honor on July 4 in Mirandola, Italy, where he led his Luigi Cherubini Youth Orchestra and a chorus—a total of more than 375 musicians—in an all-Verdi benefit concert for the victims of last year’s devastating earthquakes in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna. The award was also given in recognition of the 71-year-old maestro’s spearheading the ongoing ‘Paths of Friendship’ initiative of the Ravenna Festival. … The Premio Giustiniano, Ravenna’s top prize for arts and culture, is to be awarded to Muti following a concert performance he is scheduled to lead there … of Verdi’s opera Nabucco. The performance is part of this year’s Ravenna Festival.”
Posted July 10, 2013
