Download RICCARDO MUTI VERDI, THE ITALIAN That is, in music, our roots

RICCARDO MUTI
VERDI, THE ITALIAN
That is, in music, our roots
Edited by Armando Torno
On the occasion of the bicentenary of Giuseppe Verdi’s birth, maestro
Muti writes about the most significant Italian composer.
On the eve of the bicentenary of Giuseppe Verdi’s birth, maestro Riccardo
Muti dedicates to the great Italian composer this book, that is both a passionate
tribute to Verdi and an enlightening trip into his works. It is also an attempt –
by his greatest interpreter along with Toscanini – to give him the recognition
he deserves in the history of music.
If Mozart or Wagner are unquestionably considered giants in their countries of
origin and in the whole world, in Italy, Verdi has often been presented as the
composer of easy and catchy tunes, and in many cases his melodies were
performed without philological respect, as if his scores could be modified and
adapted as required.
But Verdi – Muti argues – is an absolute genius and the patriarch of Italian
music, able to stage the great human passions in a frame of extraordinary
refinement and nobility of expression. In these pages, written with great
authority and in a fascinating style, readers will discover the real charm of this
musician, by reflecting about the perfect bond between words and notes that
makes all his works masterpieces of theater.
But Verdi’s greatness lays also in the representation of the tragedy of modern
man in front of God, as masterfully expressed in the Requiem, unique
Pages: 224
interpretation of the Italian spirit and flag of Risorgimento, or in absolute
Publication: November 2012
works such as Otello and Falstaff, fruit of maturity and of a fine awareness of
the grave walk toward the sunset of life.
If one day, in the Hereafter, Wagner,
The common thread of all these bright patches inside the genius of Verdi
remains his excellent ability to read and talk, always through the music, about
the soul of every man. For this very reason, today and in the future, the world
will always need Verdi.
Beethoven or Spontini would say to me
“You failed Riccardo!”, I could bear it.
If these words would come from Verdi, to
whom I faithfully gave all my love, it
would be terrible!” – Riccardo Muti
RICCARDO MUTI (Naples, 1941) is one of the most acclaimed orchestral conductors in the world. During his
extraordinary career he has directed the most important italian and international orchestras. Rights for his autobiography,
Prima la musica, poi le parole (Rizzoli 2010) have been sold in China, France, Japan and USA.
ARMANDO TORNO (Milan, 1953), a leader writer for Il Corriere della Sera, has written several works of musical
criticism, among which Mozart a Milano (Mondadori 2004) and, with monsignore Pierangelo Sequeri, Divertimenti per
Dio. Mozart e i teologi (Piemme 1991). He’s been presenting the programme “Musica maestro” on Italy’s Radio 24
station for thirteen years.