Riccardo Geminiani

Of the artists active today, Ricardo Muti has been a welcome guest at the Festival for more than 40 years. His first conducting engagements there did not just provide the basis for his current “telepathic” relationship with the Vienna Philharmonic, but also brought collaborations with important soloists of the older generation. Thus the new CD in the series FESTIVAL DOCUMENTS includes the Piano Concerto by Robert Schumann under Muti’s baton, with Sviatoslav Richter once more proving the uniqueness of his pianistic gifts. Over and above all its virtuoso challenges, Richter and Muti together give an account triumphant in its formal cohesion and in which they sculpt it as a large-scale musical arch.

Riccardo Muti conducts a fine cast in the powerful and atmospheric 1991 production of Verdi's ninth opera, whose story of the heroic tussle between Ezio, a Roman general, and Attila, the Nordic invader was written for the 1846 Teatro la Fenice season and premiered there to huge acclaim.

The 2021 New Year's Concert was a New Year's Concert like none before. Due to the current Corona protection measures, it was only allowed to be played in the golden hall of the Vienna Musikverein without an audience. The Vienna Philharmonic and Riccardo Muti were alone with the 14 cameras of the ORF. Worldwide, the television broadcast of this traditional concert reached more than 50 million viewers in over 90 countries. It was eagerly awaited to see what the concert would be like without applause, without the traditional interruption of the second encore introduced by clapping, and without clapping along to the Radetzky March.

“…Riccardo Muti conducts Don Pasquale in Ravenna - a great celebration for everyone.” This press quote from the Italian music magazine Il giornale della musica hit the mark exactly. Watching this realistic, young and vital production, directed by the 21 year old Andrea da Rosa and listening to a high potential and unspent young cast, you feel how powerful, charming and timeless this score by Donizetti is. This production was recorded during the Ravenna Festival in the gorgeous and patriarchal Teatro Dante Alighieri, in December 2006. Maestro Riccardo Muti shows one more time, what it means to perform an Italian opera with a young and professional Italian cast – an outstanding and breathtaking performance and really, "a great celebration for everyone".

Riccardo Chailly and the Gewandhaus Orchestra complete their cycle of Schumann s four symphonies, presented together in a specially-priced 2-CD set. The Gewandhaus Orchestra under it s Music Director Riccardo Chailly brings generations of authentic romantic style to performances of all four Schumann symphonies. These symphonies, recorded in the wonderful acoustic of the Gewandhaus itself, include the revisions made by the composer Gustav Mahler a lifelong supporter of Schumann and his symphonic writings.

Lyric Opera of Chicago presents The Three Queens, a program that brings together the finales of Gaetano Donizetti’s Tudor trilogy, showcasing three of the most fascinating heroines of opera history. These extraordinary women are interpreted by soprano star Sondra Radvanovsky, who performs them together with an excellent ensemble of soloists under the baton of Donizetti specialist Riccardo Frizza. Singing these three breathtaking roles on one night is an enormous challenge for any soprano, and this live recording captures all the excitement of this exceptional achievement.

Riccardo Chailly was born into a musical family in Milan. He studied at the conservatories in Milan and Perugia and received specialized training in conducting from Franco Ferrara at his Siena summer courses. At the age of 20, Chailly became assistant conductor to Claudio Abbado at Milan’s La Scala. He made his opera debut there in 1978 and was soon in great demand at the world’s leading opera houses and concert halls.