Riccardo Muti to perform in Malta

Undoubtedly one of the greatest conductors of the past 30-odd years, Riccardo Muti will perform in Malta with his hand-picked, 85-strong Luigi Cherubini Orchestra in a unique event that is to add a new dimension to cultural entertainment on the island.

The Malta concert is marking the first overseas performance of his "personal" orchestra, Renaissance Productions Ltd (RPL), the local company behind the event, proudly announced.

The master of fast tempi and cleanly articulated rhythm, Mro Muti is known, first and foremost, for defending the purity of classical music. He believes in presenting music exactly as it was written: The composer is the architect, Mro Muti the contractor.

For the past two decades, he held one of the most coveted posts in the world of opera and classical music as music director of Milan's La Scala. But a recent feud between him and the orchestra over management issues forced him to resign, the news sending a shockwave through the world of classical music.

Over the past two years, Mro Muti has auditioned 500 musicians from all over Italy to choose the "cream of the cream" and the Piacenza-based Orchestra Luigi Cherubini is expected to be the talk of the town in the coming years, RPL said.

The Malta concert is being held on July 9 at the Mediterranean Conference Centre, in Valletta - among his requests, the Italian maestro insisted on performing indoors for top quality sound. It is being organised by RPL in collaboration with the Ravenna Festival, reputed to be second only to the Salzburg Festival in Europe - another honour for the local company. The collaboration with Ravenna Festival augurs well for more similar initiatives in the future, RPL said.

The MCC concert is being held under the auspices of Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo and Tourism and Culture Minister Francis Zammit Dimech.

"When Muti travels, it is like Italy is travelling. He is like an institution," RPL said. "Dr Frendo's involvement was required because bringing the renowned conductor over took the form of a bilateral, cultural initiative between Malta and Italy."

According to RPL, Mro Muti is very enthusiastic about performing in Malta. Contacts with him date back to a visit last year to the Ravenna Festival, where the opportunity arose to invite the world class conductor to Malta.

The aim of RPL's directors, Anton Tabone and Amabile Zammit, is to "introduce major, cultural, quality events of Riccardo Muti calibre in the belief that such activities not only provide entertainment but also serve to promote Malta overseas".

The promotional effect of such events lay also in the fact that a plane was being chartered to fly Mro Muti, his orchestra and administration, which numbered over 100 people. The fact that they were flying to Malta was enough publicity in itself and could lead to other openings, RPL said.

The company is also in talks with Italian TV stations to broadcast the event and give Malta exposure.

The event is being organised down to the slightest detail (including a post-concert reception, where some of the audience and sponsors can meet the conductor and his orchestra) "as is fit for a man of Mro Muti's calibre, who is renowned not only for his musical talent but also for his personality and charisma. Muti is, indeed, more than just a conductor," Dr Tabone said.

The Muti concert is not a one-off and RPL has other projects in the pipeline, also of an international dimension, with an emphasis on "quality and sophisticated cultural and artistic events". The company is in touch with other international artistes whom it intends to bring to Malta.

Of course, an event of such prestige comes at a hefty price and RPL was doing its utmost to contact local corporate sponsors and augured that the public would appreciate and support the event.

The concert is being launched at a press conference tomorrow.