Riccardo Muti

Born July 28, 1941, Muti built a conducting career that took him from Florence's Maggio Musicale to London's Philharmonia, then across the Atlantic to the Philadelphia Orchestra. He became music director at Milan's Teatro alla Scala, later took the helm of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and in 2023 was named music director emeritus there. Along the way he led the Salzburg Whitsun Festival and now directs the Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini. A prolific recording artist, he's won two Grammys and collected honours across decades. In 2015, music critics ranked him the world's fifth best livin…