“A vivid portrait of life at the top of a podium heap…[a] fascinating memoir – a must-read for all who would gain insights into what makes a dedicated and complicated man of music tick.” ~ Chicago Tribune

From a small town in the south of Italy to the pinnacle of the classical music world, Riccardo Muti has enthralled audiences across the globe as conductor of the world’s most prestigious orchestras and opera houses. Now, after fifty years on the podium, he reflects on an extraordinary career, working with the great artists of his generation. Here, for the first time, he shares the personal anecdotes and revelations of a remarkable life in music.

Riccardo Muti first came to the attention of critics and the public in 1967, when he was unanimously awarded first place at the Guido Cantelli Competition for conductors in Milan. Since then he has regularly conducted in the most celebrated opera houses including the Metropolitan Opera, Vienna State Opera, and Rome Opera as well as the most distinguished orchestras including the Berlin, Vienna, and New York philharmonics. In addition, Maestro Muti has held titled positions with Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Philharmonia Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, and La Scala. In 2010, Maestro Muti became the tenth Music Director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra winning two Grammy® awards with the orchestra in his inaugural season.

Riccardo Muti has conducted friendship concerts in locations that symbolize the world’s troubled past and contemporary history: Sarajevo, Beirut, Jerusalem, Moscow, Yerevan, Istanbul, New York, Cairo, Damascus, L’Aquila, Trieste, El Djem, and, most recently, Nairobi. Muti has been honored with a Cavaliere di Gran Croce of the Italian Republic, an Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, an honorary Knight Commander of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II, and Officer of the Legion of Honor by French President Nicolas Sarkozy. He has been awarded the Wolf Prize for the Arts from the State of Israel, the Order of Friendship from Russia, the Prince of Asturias Prize for the Arts from Spain and the Birgit Nilsson Prize from Sweden. In Vienna alone he has been elected an honorary member of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, the Wiener Hofmusikkapelle, the Vienna State Opera, and the Vienna Philharmonic.