The season will be the first following the departure of Riccardo Muti as music director. But the maestro will be close at hand as he continues his association with the CSO.

“In 20 to 30 years, when everything will collapse, you will say maybe Muti was right,” the 80-year-old Italian conductor said.

Lupu was renowned for his thoughtful interpretations of “19th-century German and Austrian piano works, especially those of Schubert, Schumann, and Brahms,” notes WFMT’s Candice Agree.

The CSO shares that the 80-year-old conductor is experiencing mild symptoms and is in high spirits.

Banner works by Schubert, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, and Prokofiev headline Muti’s three CSO residencies, ahead of the conclusion of his tenure with Beethoven’s Missa solemnis.

“I’ve been very lucky. Not only did I get the world’s best job, but I also got to work closely with the world’s best conductors: Barenboim, Muti, Boulez, Haitink, you name it!”

Music director Riccardo Muti will conduct music by Beethoven, Price, Glass, and Montgomery while welcoming guest artists like Anne-Sophie Mutter, Leif Ove Andsnes, and Mitsuko Uchida.

The 2021-22 season was initially meant to be Muti’s final as music director, but because of the many Muti-led concerts that were canceled as a consequence of the pandemic, that date has been pushed back.

When its season kicks off this autumn, the CSO will require audiences to share proof of full COVID vaccination or a recent negative test.

July 28, 2021, the 80th birthday of the CSO music director, is Riccardo Muti Day in Chicago, Mayor Lori Lightfoot has proclaimed.

The CSO announces an array of concerts from September to January.

“I have great admiration for the orchestra and Maestro Muti,” shares Hilary Hahn, “and it is an honor to join their organization and be present in the city of Chicago over the next two seasons.”

Riccardo Muti will return to Chicago this September to launch the 2021-22 CSO season, his first stint conducting the CSO in Symphony Center since February 2020.

Conductor Riccardo Muti has once again reopened the Italian musical season in his adopted hometown of Ravenna after another — and if all goes well perhaps final — round of pandemic closures.

The CSO will return in May and June for a slate of performances, the orchestra’s first since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.

Riccardo Muti has appointed Jessie Montgomery as the Mead Composer-in-Residence. Montgomery will succeed the CSO’s current composer-in-residence, Missy Mazzoli, in July of this year.

The CSO’s music director made a remote return to the Windy City on Wednesday to lead an online masterclass with fellows from Chicago Musical Pathways Initiative.

It’s been a strange, difficult year for the music world, which is all the more reason to celebrate musical excellence.

It wouldn’t be New Year without the Vienna Philharmonic. But as the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, what will come of the annual New Year’s Concert?

In a statement, CSOA president Jeff Alexander expressed, “As we look ahead and make plans for ensemble concerts for the fall, we are also eager for the day when Maestro Muti and the full orchestra can come together again to share music with local, national and international audiences.”

Featured in the eleven new programs is a wide array of music conducted by Muti, including selections by Bruckner, Berlioz, and Verdi. Additional programs are dedicated to performances conducted by Fritz Reiner, Pierre Boulez, and Bernard Haitink.

Riccardo Muti has sent a resounding message that live classical music has returned the Italian stage after the coronavirus lockdown.

Organizers are billing the open-air concert as Italy’s first live classical music performance since its coronavirus lockdown.

The joint series, which is curated by CSO music director Riccardo Muti, launched in April in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The CSO’s season was set to continue through June 27 and include a two-week residency with music director Riccardo Muti. Per the statement, the CSO is working to reschedule canceled programs in future seasons.