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The Arts Intel Report

A Cultural Compass
For the World Traveler
A Cultural Compass
For the World Traveler

9th Subscription Concert and 5th Soirée, Conductor Riccardo Muti

May 21–24, 2022
Bösendorferstraße 12, 1010 Wien, Austria

It’s no secret. The Vienna public—arguably the most discerning music lovers in the world—cannot get enough of Riccardo Muti. The management obliges by scheduling extra dates for his programs, often listing them (as on this occasion) under a confusing variety of series titles. In a French mood, the maestro comes bearing the fragrant travelogue Trois Images of Debussy, evoking England and Spain as well as la douce France, and the Symphonie Fantastique of Berlioz, that intoxicating, sometimes terrifying, opium dream of a poet possessed. If the online calendar is to be believed, the compositions will be heard in different order at different performances. Really? We’ll go for them either way. —Matthew Gurewitsch