Sold out concert! We’re approaching the end of month, and it’s been a busy couple of weeks! Most importantly, however, was that we just wrapped up a phenomenal set of concerts this past week, with Maestro Muti back in Chicago! The featured pieces on the program? Schumann’s Violin Concerto with Julia Fischer (who performed an amazing Beethoven Violin Concerto in 2016) and Tchaikovsky’s Manfred Symphony. Maestro Muti has recorded both of these great (but often neglected) works before with the Philharmonia Orchestra (the Schumann with Gidon Kremer), so while I’ve heard these recordings before on ..read more

Happy 2023! We’re just about finished with the first month of the new year, and already there’s been a lot of great music happening. Fresh off of last month’s incredible trip to Italy (I’m still constantly listening to both Don Giovanni and Verdi’s Requiem these days!), I definitely entered 2023 with huge excitement and curiosity for what was to come in the new year. And indeed, into the middle of January, Maestro Muti and the CSO were back in Chicago preparing for the first tour since the pandemic began! It was so nice to be back in Orchestra Hall—my first time in the new year—to hear again t ..read more

And that’s a wrap! My third visit to Ravenna and my third experience at Maestro Muti’s Italian Opera Academy has come to an end — it always goes by way too quickly. And, I know I pretty much say this after each time I go, but this experience was definitely the most special one yet. Verdi’s “Messa da Requiem” occupies a unique position in the composer’s oeuvre. It was written to commemorate the death of Alessandro Manzoni, one of Italy’s most important writers and a key figure in the development of the modern Italian language, but actually the earliest origins of the piece start with the death ..read more

And I’ve finally reached Ravenna! After an absolutely incredible week in Torino and Milano, I’ve made it to my final destination in Italy and have already had an incredible week here so far. I’m so glad to be back in Ravenna after three long years (blame the pandemic for getting in the way…), and it’s honestly as if I never left! In fact, some of the staff at the hotel (huge shoutout to Marco!), as well at the Teatro Alighieri, remembered and greeted me with so much excitement that I myself was even surprised haha . This year, Maestro Muti’s Italian Opera Academy focuses on Giuseppe Verdi’s ..read more

Ciao tutti! Yes, I’m finally back in Italy, having last been here in 2019 for Maestro Muti’s Academy on Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro. This is actually my first time traveling abroad ever since the pandemic started, so it’s exciting to finally be able to leave Chicago for a bit. I’m currently writing this post from the heart of Torino’s city centre, having just experienced an absolutely brilliant production of Mozart’s second dramma giocoso after Nozze — Don Giovanni — conducted by none other than the best interpreter of Mozart today… Maestro Muti! This series of performances, which just conclu ..read more

Maestro Thielemann is back in Chicago! The last time Maestro Christian Thielemann conducted the Chicago Symphony was in January of 1995, more than 27 years ago (and before I was even born!). Indeed, Maestro Thielemann, the current Chefdirigent of the Staatskapelle Dresden, finally came back to Chicago this week (shoutout to Maestro Muti for the invite!) to conduct Bruckner’s Symphony No. 8 w/ the orchestra. I can tell you that this was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had in a concert hall — an absolutely unforgettable performance. Standing ovation all around! Admittedly, I was not famili ..read more

Season-opening concert program and Maestro Muti’s 500th CSO concert on September 27th! On July 25th, 1973, a young Maestro Muti conducted the storied Chicago Symphony Orchestra for the first time at the Ravinia Festival, in a program of Rossini’s Overture to Semiramide, Schumann’s Piano Concerto (w/ Christopher Eschenbach), and Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition (Ravel’s orchestration). Who would have ever thought that almost 50 years later from that fateful debut, that we would be celebrating Maestro Muti’s 500TH concert with the orchestra?! And, on top of that, for the third and final pr ..read more

The Martin Theatre at the Ravinia Festival! It’s the last day of August, and thus, the summer classical music season has finally come to a close here in Chicago! The two main classical music festivals in the Chicagoland area are the Ravinia Festival (summer home of the CSO) and the Grant Park Music Festival (with their own summer festival orchestra). Since Ravinia is a bit farther away from me, as it’s all the way up north in Highland Park, I unfortunately don’t get to visit quite as often as I would like. Regardless, I still got to attend two different events this summer: 1) a Schubertiade/Li ..read more

Muti + Verdi + Chicago Symphony Orchestra = the best in the world. “Addio per sempre, miei figli…” (“Farewell forever, my children…”) These are the final, parting words of Riccardo, the Boston governor in Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera, as he slowly dies from a mortal knife wound delivered to him by his best friend Renato, under the setting of a masquerade ball. And just before this moment, he says goodbye to his love, Amelia, with the words: “L’ultima volta! Addio!” (“For the last time! Farewell!”) All of these words have really hit hard for me throughout these past couple of weeks whilst worki ..read more

It’s finally May in Chicago, and with this new month came a new spring residency in the city for Maestro Muti — one that actually marked a series of important and exciting milestones! I, for one, am super glad that I got to experience this, and I’ll try to provide a general recap of the absolutely incredible past two weeks, filled with (of course) some great music. Maestro Muti on the universality of Beethoven’s music! First things first, I can finally say that I have now heard Maestro Muti conduct all 9 of Beethoven’s symphonies, live in concert! The Beethoven 250 year celebrations that were ..read more