Chicago Symphony to greet Riccardo Muti’s arrival as Music Director with live recording of Verdi’s Requiem
The inaugural season of Riccardo Muti’s tenure as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s tenth music director is to be marked by the release of a performance of Verdi’s Messa da Requiem on the CSO’s own Resound label.
Recorded live in the orchestra’s Symphony Center home over three nights in January 2009, the release captures Muti’s first conducting duties with the CSO as its music director designate. Soloists include soprano Barbara Frittoli, mezzo Olga Borodina, tenor Mario Zeffiri and bass Ildar Abdrazakov.
Muti’s arrival in Chicago will begin with a Berlioz double bill – Symphonie fantastique and Lélio, narrated by Gérard Depardieu – at Symphony Center on September 23.
The Chicago Symphony’s recorded catalogue extends to more than 900 releases and has been the recipient of 60 Grammy Awards – more than any other orchestra in the world. It launched its own CSO Resound label in 2007 and Verdi’s Requiem will be the imprint’s 12th release.
The recording will be available as a digital download on iTunes from September 21, and from other digital retailers on October 15. Hybrid SACD and standard CD formats will be released in the United States on September 28 and internationally from October 15.
Photo credit: Todd Rosenberg
