Conductor Riccardo Muti: Learning from the master

The supposedly easy parts are the most difficult. Riccardo Muti works extensively alone on three bars on a single note. Even famous interpreters usually sing “Libera Me” wrong, he says, emphasizing “tremendae”, unaware that “illa” with its concrete reference to the Last Judgment is the most important word in the phrase.

In his eighth opera academy in Ravenna, Italy, the maestro works with young people on Giuseppe Verdi’s Requiem. A lesson in the fundamental differences between the German Romantics and Verdi comes at the outset: Brahms and Schumann wrote their Requiems as a consolation for the bereaved. In the case of the agnostic Verdi, on the other hand, hopes for mercy are mixed with doubt and fear of the Last Judgment. From the last two words “libera me”, with which the work ends, hope has already given way.

Hundreds of applications were received

The rehearsals are well attended, with many in the audience following the Maestro’s lessons with the score on their knees. In the mornings, Muti works with the pianists, whose job it is to prepare the singers for their work with the orchestra, and in the afternoons with the conductors. Among them are not only young professionals.

One is Andreas Ottensamer, principal clarinetist with the Berlin Philharmonic. Even during his student days, he drove two tracks, but only recently has he been itching to conduct more. His profound training is evident in the native Austrian, he works very confidently with the orchestra without Muti having to interrupt him or make major corrections. Ottensamer only takes his wise advice at the beginning of the powerful beginning of “Dies Irae” not to consistently beat two in four-four time, but to discreetly indicate the beats in between. That helps the orchestra.

Above all, however, Ottensamer values ​​the participation in the multifaceted, priceless experience Muti has accumulated over five decades as the most precious thing he can take away from the academy. After all, Muti takes care of everything: language, colours, expression, intonation, dynamics, difficult entries and rehearsal techniques. In addition, there is a lot worth knowing about music and performance history.

The fact that Muti is not only an excellent teacher who can explain everything well and diagnose problems, but also a very friendly one, certainly contributes to his popularity. This time, too, he received hundreds of applications for the opera academy in Ravenna. In the end, he can only choose five conductors and five pianists each.

A conductor from the Ukraine will be there

Many artists you talk to these days consider Muti to be the best conductor of all anyway. The bass Riccardo Zanellato, for example, a long-time companion who has made himself available as a soloist for Muti’s opera academies several times. Or Valentina Benfenati, concertmaster of the Luigi Cherubini Orchestra, who can hardly imagine what to expect from the future when she joined the brilliant Verdi conductor at the very beginning of her career.

And last but not least, the 21-year-old conductor Polina Lebedieva from the Ukraine, who earned her first spurs as the assistant to her successful colleague Oksana Lyniv and who speaks of Muti as her favorite conductor. She knows how to implement Muti’s ingenious instructions quickly, so she manages the “Sanctus” in particular, which he says is the most difficult part of the entire Requiem because of the complicated double fugue, with the desired lightness.

With the Chinese Kerou Liu, another self-confident young conductor is getting the finishing touches from the best Verdi conductor. Only in his digressions do gaps open up that hurt the teacher. Victor De Sabata, Antonio Guarneri, Artur Nikisch – the trainee looks helpless at the names. In moments like this, only humor helps: “He tells you something, doesn’t he?” says Muti, and without waiting for the answer, he continues: “Please just say yes!”

The meticulous giant also says a few uncharming things about singers, especially about tenors, who could get on the nerves of conductors if they don’t take rhythmically difficult passages so precisely, breathe in the wrong place or want to impress with vocal mellowness at the expense of linguistic subtleties.

Young voices that convince

But he says that with a wink and in recognition of what the assembled young, excellent ensemble of soloists has achieved. A great future is likely for all of them: Juliana Grigoryan (soprano) and Isabel de Paoli (mezzo-soprano) are even more appealing with their slim, warm, beautiful voices than their famous colleagues Krassimira Stoyanova and Anita Rachvelishvili, who performed the Requiem in Salzburg in 2019 under Muti sang with excessive vibrato. The Albanian tenor Klodjan Kaçan captivates with rarely heard ethereal tones. Riccardo Zanellato, the bass, has long been established as a longtime companion of Muti.

Incidentally, the academy becomes a great stepping stone for young singers. You can experience excellent soloists who are still little known internationally. With their slender, beautiful voices, Juliana Grigoryan (soprano) and Isabel de Paoli (mezzo-soprano) surpass famous colleagues such as Krassimira Stoyanova and Anita Rachvelishvili, who sang the Requiem under Muti in Salzburg in 2019. The Albanian tenor Klodjan Kaçan captivates with rarely heard ethereal tones.

Only in the rhythmically intricate a cappella passages does the intonation slip several times. But that happens just as often with prominent singer stars, Muti knows. And he tells the anecdote of a musician who once made the absurd suggestion that he “improve” Verdi by adding orchestral parts. All the nonsense he had to put up with in his long life would probably fill books. But he is still alive, says the 81-year-old laconically.

On December 15, the Academy in Ravenna ends with a performance of the Verdi Requiem conducted by Muti.

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