Maestro Muti at the Vatican:
'What emotion it is
to conduct for Pope Benedict!'
by Pierachille Dolfini
Translated from
He does not hide that he feels a bit more apprehensive than usual, because he will be conducting "for a Pope who is also a refined musician": "Such emotion to conduct for him!"
Riccardo Muti will be at the Aula Paolo VI Friday for a concert to celebrate the seventh anniversary of Benedict XVI's election as Pope. A gift to the Pontiff from President Giorgio Napolitano, and therefore, from Italy.
"I have bound by close affection to the President of the Republic , and when he invited me to offer this concert for the Pope, I was very happy to do so. Especially since I admire Papa Ratzinger, a fine theologian who has the rare ability to transmit the most profound concepts in absolutely simple ways so that even persons who are not 'learned' can easily grasp his message", Muti said.
For the concert, Muti will lead the Orchestra and Chorus of Rome's Teatro dell'Opera. "I have chosen the Magnificat of Antonio Vivaldi - Daniella Barcelona will be the solosit - and the
Stabat Mater and the
Te Deum by Giuseppe Verdi. These are pieces that I love and which have meant something in my career as a musician and in my own life".
You often perform sacred music. Is this only because it is great music or because you find a spirituality which can speak even to man today?
I believe that any music which has a living and profound inspiration acquires a sacredness - it becomes an expression of the Spirit. When I execute music that is inspired by the Bible or ny liturgy, I feel the transcendence that pervades them. And the history of music owes much to the cultural patronage of the Church. Without the Church, the history of music would certainly be different, much poorer from the criterion of quantity, but above all, of quality.
Benedict XVI will be the third Pope for whom you will conduct since you performed for Paul VI in 1965...
At the time, I was still a student at the Milan Conservatory, and I went to the Vatican to conduct a student orchestra and chorus (among whom was Cristina, who later became my wife, and who was also studying music at the time). I was very much impressed by papa Montini's hieratic figure. And for the Pope, who had been Archbishop of Milan, I chose music by Scarlatti and Vivaldi.
It was different when I later conducted for John Paul II. Each time, I could feel the warmth and charisma of that extraordinary man. In 1986, I brought to the Vatican Cherubini's
Messe du Sacre with the RAI Orchestra, and then in 2000, Bach's Mass in A minor withthe Vienna Philharmonic.
But the most emotional meeting was in 1983 at la Scala. The Pope who was seated in the hall came up to the stage to be among the musicians. I treasure a photograph of that moment.
This time, you will be going to the Vatican with the Rome Opera, your new musical family, along with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. But this has meant revising your previous work schedule. For instance, you will no longer be conducting opera in Salzburg.
At least not for now. For a music director, the orchestra becomes a family that requires time and attention. The Rome Opera is our capital's musical calling card to the world. It cannot just be visited fleetingly during the year. Even if I am not its music director, I am committed to stay close to it in order to help it grow. Everyone is committed to it, and I think it has the potential to expand,, both at Costanzi as well as at the Baths of Caracalla, to develop a cultural discourse which can give Rome the musical prestige it deserves.
Will you ever direct at Caracalla despite the fact that you do not favor performing in the open?
We are already planning the 2013 season which will have a more demanding repertoire, and if we can make Caracalla a place which does honor to the origins and musical history of the city of Rome, then, of course, I will contribute what I can to that venue.
Early next month, Benedict XVI will be in Milan for the VII World Encounter of Families. In your view - as someone who has always wanted your family around you - what is the state of that institution today?
There has been an erosion, not just in Italy but elsewhere - a crisis that families are undergoing, startign with economic difficulties. But I am convinced that the family remains teh fulcrum that holds society together.
In terms of the crisis, what do you think of our current government of technocrats?
I don't understand much of what's going on. I only hope that this government - which is made up of serious persons - can do something to help bring hope to those who can barely make it through the month.
What about your appeals in defense of culture and music - are they now being heard? Is something starting to happen?
Unfortunately, they continue to be unheeded in large part. As logn as we continue with television which continues to pontentiate and broadcast transmissions which are demential and anti-cultural, that certainly do not help society to improve, then appeals of the sort from me and my colleagues will be like drops in the ocean.
The Academy of Santa Cecilia and La Scala have become autonomous. Do you expect this to happen also at the Rome Opera?
All I hope for is that our theaters do not lose their specific identities. One can speak of autonomy, which is certainly important, but in the end, what matters is that our Italian theaters continue to be the repositories of our great culture. Without this, autonomy is empty.