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Muti presents refugee musicians with an oud at the Zaatari camp
© UNHCR/Shawkat AlHarfoush
Following his final residency as the Zell Music Director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on June 27, Riccardo Muti returned to his home in Ravenna, Italy, to begin a series of concerts steeped in historical and diplomatic significance.
July 2 – Concert with the Band of the Carabinieri, Palazzo Mauro De André, Ravenna, Italy
On Sunday, July 2, Riccardo Muti conducted the Band of the Carabinieri at the 3,800-seat Palazzo Mauro De André. This famed military ensemble, which performed in full uniform, is described as “a symphonic band that sounds like an orchestra.” Its origins anticipate Italy’s Risorgimento, as early as 1820, and was officially founded in 1862. Colonel Massimo Martinelli, who has led the ensemble since 2000, conducted the opening half of the program.
Provincial Commander Colonel Marco De Donno said, “We are grateful and honored that Maestro Muti has accepted our invitation. Not only for his precious experience on the podium of the greatest orchestras in the world and for the love he always shows for the musical heritage of our country but also for the acute sensitivity with which he recognizes in playing together a high example of civil coexistence.”
The music for the evening’s performance ranged from Verdi to Bellini, from Respighi to Morricone. “Bands have always contributed to the knowledge of music,” noted Muti, "and the glorious Banda dell’Arma dei Carabinieri belongs to this story, a story that we cannot and must not give up.” Muti has been a lifelong champion of Italy’s musical heritage and considers the Band of the Carabinieri an important part.
July 7 – Roads of Friendship, Palazzo Mauro André, Ravenna, Italy
Muti’s next performance was the first of three concerts for Roads of Friendship of Ravenna Festival 2023, marking the 27th series in 26 years of performances that have brought the healing power of music to symbolic locations every year since 1997. The Ravenna program was repeated in Jerash, on July 9, in the ancient Roman theater known as the “Pompeii of the East” and again on Tuesday, July 11, in the Teatro Grande of Pompeii. The three cities share an ancient Roman past. The latter two are bound by an archaeological heritage — one buried by the ash of Vesuvius, the other by the sands of the Jordan desert — and Ravenna, whose port Emperor Augustus (63 BCE-14 AD) chose for his Eastern Mediterranean fleet.
On all three stages, Muti was joined by the Luigi Cherubini Youth Orchestra, Cremona Antiqua Choir, Jordanian musicians from the National Music Conservatory of Amman, and vocal soloists: soprano Monica Conesa and countertenor Filippo Mineccia. They performed Act 2 from Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice, the Sinfonia and arias and scenes from Bellini’s Norma, and Brahms’ Dad Schicksalied (The Song of Destiny). Syrian musicians Mirna Kassis and François Razek-Bitar and Jordanian singers Ady Naber and Zain Awad also performed traditional Middle Eastern songs.
With these concerts, Muti helped launch fundraising efforts by donating proceeds from the concerts, including his fee, to support local restoration projects following the destructive floods in the Emilia-Romagna region this past spring. One of the direct recipients of this support is the Carlo Zauli Museum, an important museum dedicated to the artwork of its namesake ceramicist and sculptor in nearby Faenza.
July 9 – Roads of Friendship, Zaatari Refugee Camp and Sudi Theater, Jerash, Jordan
The sight of the second Roads of Friendship concert this year was the Sudi (South) Theater, built during the reign of Emperor Domitian, between 90-92 AD, near the Sanctuary of Zeus in Jerash, Jordan.
Before the concert in Jerash, Muti went to the Zaatari refugee camp, where 80,000 refugees, mainly from Syria, live. The camp has been active for 11 years, and since then, 23,000 children have been born there. This was the first time that the camp hosted a concert, which was held in a soccer field converted into a concert hall, and the emotion among its residents was palpable. During this concert, a brass quintet from the Cherubini Orchestra alternated performing with an ensemble of amateur Syrian refugee musicians, who played instruments including oud, mijwiz (a double-pipe, single-reed woodwind instrument), violin and percussion, before an audience of men, women, and children from the camp. Muti watched the performances from the front row and later presented the camp’s musicians with a handsome oud guitar, among other instruments, which were warmly received.
At that evening’s performance, Muti addressed the crowd: ’’We are here because we want to honor this great country, these great people, for what it is doing at the humanitarian level to help people who suffer and who flee conflicts. I believe,” said Muti, “that music is the best bridge between countries — to choose a path that is not one of violence but instead is traveled in many parts of the world. Music doesn’t use words; music is a purely spiritual journey.”
In the midst of the concert, at 9:30 PM, the Muezzin called everyone to prayer. Muti, who had just begun the aria “Casta Diva” from Bellini’s Norma, stopped the performance and waited until prayers were complete — a dramatic moment where life imitated art. Following the end of the concert, Muti was thanked and wrapped in a Jordanian flag by the Minster of Culture and Minister of Tourism and Antiquities.
July 11 – Roads of Friendship, Teatro Grande, Pompei, Italy
The final Roads of Friendship concert took place at the Teatro Grande in Pompeii. This performance was organized thanks to the cooperation of the Pompeii Archaeological Park and RAI Cultura, which recorded the concert to show it on Rai1.
It was also featured as part of a EuroNews video report.
“We are happy that this year the bond of sincere friendship that unites Maestro Riccardo Muti and his excellent Cherubini Orchestra to these territories is renewed,” said the director of the Archaeological Park of Pompeii, Gabriel Zuchtriegel, in anticipation of the performance at the historic and picturesque location.
July 15 – Keys of the City, San Leo, Italy
On July 15, Riccardo Muti was presented with the keys of the city of San Leo and attended a performance of the Petite Messe Solennelle by Gioacchino Rossini, conducted by Nicola Paszkowski. The concert took place at the Cathedral of San Leo and served as a fundraiser for the restoration of the Convent of San Domenico, which will provide advanced musical training for young musicians.
Next, Riccardo Muti prepares for additional concerts with the Cherubini Orchestra as well as his annual residency at the Salzburg Festival in mid-August. The Cherubini concerts include works by Nino Rota, Manuel De Falla and Ravel and take place in Ravenna (July 20) and Ferrara (July 21) to open Ferrara’s summer music festival. Tamás Varga, principal cellist of the Vienna Philharmonic, joins them as soloist for both performances, performing Rota’s Cello Concerto. In Salzburg, August 13-15, Muti conducts Verdi’s Stabat mater and Te Deum from Four Sacred Pieces and Bruckner’s Seventh Symphony.
