Muti and orchestra blow in to Berkeley from Windy City
When the San Francisco Symphony celebrated its centennial in 2011-12 by hosting a series of guest appearances by most of the leading American orchestras, we learned that the combination of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Riccardo Muti were making some of the most thrilling and viscerally dramatic music in the nation. And we started waiting for them to return.
Now the wait is over, in typically extravagant fashion. Thanks to Cal Performances, Muti and the orchestra are taking up residency in Berkeley for an action-packed weekend.
There will be three concerts, featuring music of Bruckner, Brahms, Rossini and more — including a West Coast premiere by the orchestra’s composer-in-residence, Elizabeth Ogonek. A master class, open rehearsal and composer colloquium are among the ancillary events.