The Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s fall tour to Europe, with stops in Warsaw, Luxembourg, Geneva, Paris and Vienna from Oct. 20 to Nov. 2, was a critical and popular success, as the following press reports confirm:
Rzeczpospolita, Warsaw, published Oct. 21
“The Polish audience gave an enthusiastic reception to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and would not let them off the stage without an encore. Riccardo Muti chose one of his favorites, Giuseppe Verdi’s overture to Nabucco. Some connoisseurs might say it is a cliché but in this interpretation, it was a masterpiece.”
http://www.rp.pl/artykul/9145,1150719-Chicago-Symphony-Orchestra-wreszcie-zagrala-w-Polsce.html
Le Quotidien, Luxembourg, published Oct. 23
“The [Tchaikovsky and Debussy] offered the audience not only beautiful but intense moments of maritime navigation, between huge waves and lulls, set to music but they also provided the orchestra to show off its unbelievable technique as well as all its power, with whole sections often playing together and quite clearly in total harmony.”
http://www.lequotidien.lu/culture/61585.html
Tribune de Geneve, published Oct. 26
“To say that this concert by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and its charismatic leader will find a place in our history books would be an understatement, because we have rarely been witness here to such care paid to form and shape, such attention given to the depth of a work.”
(No online link available)
Kurier, Vienna, published Oct. 29
“For his part, Muti was able effortlessly to bring out the very best in each work. Beautifully formed details, delicate nuances, and, where necessary, the highest level of drama could be heard and experienced as Muti showed himself once again to be an uncommonly eloquent and always cultivated storyteller.”
http://kurier.at/kultur/musik/ein-auftakt-nach-mass-der-lust-auf-mehr-macht/94.018.050
Le Figaro, Paris, published Oct. 31
“For a long time, this orchestra was the quintessential American symphonic ensemble, virtuosic but flashy, whose brass section was a war machine with a spectacular but aggressive sound. Under the baton of their Italian music director, we hear that thunderous marching band no more, but instead an orchestra of fine European tradition, with a string sound of unexpected warmth and roundness, especially in the velvet playing of the cellos and basses.”
Die Presse, Vienna, published Oct. 29
“The main motto in Chicago is apparent: each of us can do incredible things by him or herself, but together we conquer the music world.”
Il Sole 24 Ore, Milan, on the concerts in Vienna, published Nov. 2
“After exactly four years conducting the ensemble, the sound of the luxurious American limousine is more flexible and personal in its solos, more elastic in its rhythms and phrasing. The hand is obviously that of Muti … demonstrating that the conductor and orchestra mirror one another in a vital and dialectic way, a true confirmation of positive creativity between a conductor and his musicians.”
(No online link available)
Die Presse, Vienna, published Nov. 2
“Due to such perfectly aligned choral and orchestral powers, you landed abruptly and inescapably in the ‘Last Judgment,’ which Muti painted as a magnificent, stirring opera of divine judgment in all imaginable colors. In this requiem, every bar, every nuance, was fully formed and expressively charged.”
ADDITIONAL COVERAGE:
Oct. 30, Chicago Tribune: Muti the showman, Muti the mystic, enthrall CSO audience in Vienna
Oct. 29, Chicago Tribune: Does world travel make the CSO first-class?
Oct. 29, Chicago Tribune: CSO launches Vienna residency with golden concert in a golden hall
http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-cso-vienna-one-review-20141029-column.html
Oct. 28, Chicago Tribune: Golden sound of Musikverein is music to ears of Muti, CSO (digital subscription required)
Oct. 26, Chicago Tribune: Have flute, will travel: CSO taps guest player for tour
Oct. 24, Chicago Tribune: For CSO in Geneva, a touch of drama, enthusiasm
http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-cso-europe-geneva-20141024-column.html
http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-cso-europe-muti-backstage-20141022-column.html
Oct. 22, Chicago Tribune: Symphony and ivory: CSO contends with conservation rules (digital subscription required)
Oct. 20, Chicago Tribune: Love is a mutual feeling for CSO, Poland (digital subscription required)http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/chi-cso-europe-poland-1-20141020-column.html#page=1
Oct. 18, Le Temps: Riccardo Muti: ‘My approach marries humor with discipline; it’s part of my character’ (in French, registration required)
Oct. 18, Le Temps: The Maestro, as described by his musicians (in French, registration required)