Riccardo Muti exclusive: Karajan and me
NewsHappy birthday to the Italian maestro, who will turn 80 tomorrow.
Nine years ago, he and I sat down in his cottage in Karajan’s former village, Anif, for the only extended interview he ever gave to the BBC. Inevitably, we talked about Karajan. And had irrepressible fun.
Listen to the 45-minute conversation here.
Tanti auguri di buon compleanno 😉
Oggi nel rimirare in quell’istante eterno gli Occhi Tuoi, e Te possente in fondo all’Oro, mi sono ritrovata in una Sostanza Trasfigurata.
Prima gelida Virgo prerafaelita, ora ebrezza incosciente, istintiva, spontanea, sorgente dal mio letto d’ulva a fluire verso la tua Promessa, accompagnando Te nella Macchia abbagliante di candida guazza.
Presso l’ampia frasca voluttuosa, io nel Nido intarsiata di aromatiche gemme e oleandri profumati, porgendoti teneramente frutti da gustare.
E il Pomo turgido, inghirlandato di madidi diamanti e fulgidi, eccolo schiudersi palpitante sol per Te, mio Re.
Deh ora sono qui, spezzata Ombra di moto, attendendo che il carro Pizio sorga molte fiate ancora.
Immortale Amore.
Immortali Noi.
S.
I will say once again “Tanti auguri” 😉
Take the rest of the week off!!
Good interview Norman even if it was with the not very nice Muti. I regret that you didn’t do more itws of this type. Your best was with the other Riccardo.
But I think that Norman’s interview clarifies the rather unfair prejudice about “the not very nice Muti”.
Also check-out:
https://www.br-klassik.de/aktuell/news-kritik/dirigent-riccardo-muti-geburtstag-80-italien-verdi-28-juli-100.html
https://www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de/riccardo-muti-zum-80-geburtstag-maestro-ohne-kompromisse.3780.de.html?dram:article_id=500224
This relentless hate campaign of yours must be exhausting, surely?!
He made a very big effort himself I have to say during the last months in’t it? E un fatto. Anyway without irnony Happy birthday and all the best. And you have to know that I have seen in concert Muti and it was very nice but not fantastic. And sorry if I prefere the first of january with my old friend Zubin.
Kaiserwetter.
Very interesting interview. Certainly I remember very exciting concerts with the Philharmonia and in Philadelphia after I moved to the US. He is right about newer conductors (and directors) not having an in depth understanding of the operas they are conducting sometimes.
Grazie Maestro per momenti indimenticabili!
Tre applausi per lui!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIKzH7AGYVk
Really interesting.
Auguri al Maestro.
The Karajan early morning phone call story is hillarious (starts after 4′).
Thank you for posting this great interview. I had heard it a decade ago and still remember it. I wish Mr. Lebrecht resumed interviewing.
Are other old interview easy to access?
That Karajan early morning call was similar to one received by the great bassist Gary Karr. The morning after appearing on one of Bernstein’s tv educational programmes, Karr received a call. Slightly hung over he was not surprised when the lady told him she was Olga Koussevitsky. He merely assumed it was one of his friends playing a joke. Quickly he learned it was indeed Koussevitsky’s widow who told him how much she had enjoyed his playing. So much so that she wanted to give him her husband’s Amati bass.
Although recent analysis of the wood has shown it could not have been made by Amati and was instead made about 100 years later, it was a marvelous gesture. Karr played the bass for most of his career before donating it to a Foundation for use by aspiring bass students.
Great interview. Thanks for posting it.
Happy Birthday Riccardo Muti.
Look at us! We autocratic & authoritarian men are great, aren’t we….[?????]
Mutti is a Dracula faced creep. He bought a house in Anif precisely because Karajan had been living there for years. He sees himself as the newer Karajan, but most certainly is not!
Thank you so much for the interview! Most interesting!
(by the way, also found your Apple podcasts)