Riccardo Muti
(c) CSO
Riccardo Muti will end his 13-year career as music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra with concerts June 23-25 and a performance of Beethoven’s Missa solemnis. A concert in Millennium Park for the entire city of Chicago will follow on June 27. Now, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association (CSOA) has announced that Riccardo Muti has been named Music Director Emeritus for Life beginning in the 2023/24 season. He will assume the new role in September and conduct two weeks of concerts in Chicago to open the CSO’s 133rd season, followed by two concerts in New York’s Carnegie Hall to open their season on October 4 and 5. Muti will rejoin the Orchestra in January 2024 for three weeks of concerts during its first European Tour since 2020, with performances already announced in Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Austria and Italy.
In the new role, Muti will maintain a close connection with the Orchestra with an additional six weeks of concerts already planned for the 2024/25 season – four in Chicago and two in tour performances to be announced – with annual weeks of concerts with the CSO in discussion for subsequent seasons.
“I am honored to stay with the musicians of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as their Music Director Emeritus for Life,” said Riccardo Muti. “Our artistic collaboration has been one of the great joys of my life and created deep bonds of friendship across my years in Chicago. I look forward to returning regularly to share great music with audiences in the city and on tour.”
