Riccardo Muti Leads Chicago Symphony Orchestra In His First Concert As Music Director

Chicago, IL (Top40 Charts/ Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association) - Last night, an estimated number of more than 25,000 (including 12,000 at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion and Great Lawn, and at least 13,000 in the surrounding areas of Millennium Park) came out to celebrate the launch of Riccardo Muti's tenure as the tenth music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, a historic event that marks a new era in the cultural life of Chicago.

The day of musical festivities in downtown Chicago's Millennium Park culminated in a free evening concert led by Maestro Muti-his first as music director-featuring crowd-pleasing masterpieces by Tchaikovsky, Liszt, Verdi and Respighi.

Skyscrapers surrounding Millennium Park lit their windows to spell out "MUTI" and "CSO" for the occasion, and the concert was capped off with an exciting burst of fireworks around the pavilion. Prior to the concert, young musicians from Chicago-area music programs, schools and partners of the CSO performed throughout the park as a part of this day of celebrations.

Riccardo Muti has expressed his deep commitment to engaging with the Chicago community and taking the CSO to reach as broad an audience as possible, as well as advocating for music education and encouraging young musicians to pursue their talents. The Chicago Symphony's historic 2010/11 season at its home, Symphony Center, gets underway Thursday night.