Riccardo Muti strode confidently onto the stage Sunday at the Illinois Youth Center in Warrenville—his fourth such visit,” writes Gary Gibula in Monday’s (9/28) Chicago Tribune. “The performance was part of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s ongoing efforts to reach incarcerated and at-risk youth. Under the auspices of the Negaunee Music Institute, the afternoon recital included operatic arias, instrumental solos and ensemble pieces.… The Sunday program began with a song from the Fabulous Females, resident detainees.” Residents were “momentarily stunned” at a performance of ‘La ci darem la mano’ from Don Giovanni. “Spellbound, most sat at the edges of their seats…. The maestro then … beckoned [one of the girls] to sit in a chair placed next to the piano bench. Playing piano with his right hand, Muti pointed to the sheet music in front of him with his left hand and explained lyrics…. CSO musicians played [selections] on piano, piccolo, tuba, snare drum and marimba. At one point, CSO principal tuba Gene Pokorny illustrated the way he must blow into the instrument to produce sound. ‘For a living, I go “pffft,” ‘ he said to the girls.… The hour-and-a-half program went by quickly.”
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/wheaton/news/ct-wht-cso-muti-visits-youth-center-warrenville-tl-1001-20150928-story.html
Posted October 2, 2015
Pictured: Members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra brass section perform at the Illinois Youth Center. Photo by Todd Rosenberg
