Florence is the home of the world’s greatest masterworks — the Duomo, Michelangelo’s David, the Uffizi, and for one night only, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Led by Riccardo Muti, the CSO performed Jan. 20 at the Teatro Maggio Musicale de Fiorentino as part of the orchestra’s Europe Tour 2020. This building, which opened in 2011, succeeded the historic Teatro Comunale, where a 27-year-old Muti memorably launched his international career in 1968. From 1969 t0 1981, he served as principal conductor and music director of the Maggio Musicale de Fiorentino. Not surprisingly, the CSO’s concert was tutto esaurito — sold out. The appearance also marked the first time since 1974 that the CSO had performed in Florence.
On the following day, CSO musicians took in the many sights of Florence, including the Ponte Vecchio and the Piazza del Duomo. Others, such as Principal Trombone Jay Friedman, the dean of the CSO, with a tenure that began in 1962, conducted master classes.
From Florence, the CSO and Maestro Muti travel to La Scala in Milan, then head to Lugano, Switzerland, for the final tour concert on Jan. 23.
For more coverage, go to the tour page on cso.org, Sounds and Stories’ CSO on Tour category, the CSO’s Facebook page and other social media outlets, including Twitter and Instagram.
TOP: Riccardo Muti conducts the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in Hindemith’s Mathis der Mahler Symphony at the Teatro Maggio Musicale de Fiorentino. | ©Todd Rosenberg Photography 2020
