CSO Maestro Muti Has Fractured Jaw
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Chicago Symphony Orchestra conductor Riccardo Muti suffered a fractured jaw and multiple facial fractures when he fainted during rehearsal on Thursday.
CSO officials said Friday that Muti, 69, will undergo surgery to repair multiple facial and jaw fractures on Monday. He fainted and fell during rehearsal on Thursday and has been undergoing tests at Northwestern Memorial Hospital to determine why he fainted.
The orchestra went ahead with its Thursday concert without Muti and will do the same for the next several shows.
The performances on Friday, Saturday and Tuesday will now be led by conductor/pianist Mitsuko Uchida and conductor Leonard Slatkin.
The CSO's performances next Thursday and Friday will be led by Finnish conductor Sakari Oramo, who makes his CSO debut in these concerts.
Last fall, Muti withdrew from the CSO's gala "Symphony Ball" because of "extreme gastric distress." He spent three months in his native Milan, Italy, to be treated by doctors who speak his native language.
The $2 million-a-year conductor returned to work in late January to begin rehearsals for a February residency, which kicks off Thursday night. Muti also has scheduled residencies in the spring as part of his five-year contract, the CSO said.
Muti first conducted the CSO in his 30s, and his return to the city had been highly anticipated. He made his debut as the CSO's music director last September, 16 months after he was picked as the successor to Daniel Barenboim, who retired in 2006.
