CSO’s Riccardo Muti won’t finish remaining winter residency

CSO’s Riccardo Muti won’t finish remaining winter residency
Replacement conductors will fill in for Muti's remaining February performances as he recovers from surgery. Getty Images/Tim Boyle
CSO’s Riccardo Muti won’t finish remaining winter residency
Replacement conductors will fill in for Muti's remaining February performances as he recovers from surgery. Getty Images/Tim Boyle

CSO’s Riccardo Muti won’t finish remaining winter residency

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Riccardo Muti’s doctor says he is resting comfortably at Northwestern Memorial Hospital after surgery to repair two facial fractures. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra music director suffered injuries to his jaw and cheek bone in a fall during rehearsal last week. In order to heal the injuries, several screws and metal plates were placed in his jaw and cheekbone.

Deborah Rutter is president of the CSO Association. She said when she spoke with him this morning Muti was in good spirits, despite the fact that his jaw is wired shut. “He made fun of how he looked,” she said. “And went directly to saying ‘I’m so disappointed I didn’t get to do the performances, I can’t wait to get back to them.’” 

There is no date scheduled for Muti’s release from the hospital. His doctor said he is recovering well, but will need to undergo more testing to determine the cause of his initial collapse. Rutter says Muti will not be conducting next week’s scheduled performances. That means he will miss all the performances scheduled for his winter CSO residency, after missing half of last fall’s residency performances due to an exhaustion-related gastric illness.