Official guide of MaestroMuti inCairo

Official guide of MaestroMuti inCairo

I am proud to have been the official guide of Maestro Muti in Cairo during the visit of the Vienna Philharmonic for the inauguration of the new Hall of the Art Centre of the new administrative capital of Egypt. I felt truly honoured to have been chosen by the Italian Embassy in Egypt as Maestro Muti‘s official guide and assistant during his stay in Cairo. The Egyptian organisers of Maestro Muti‘s visit in Cairo invited me to visit the new administrative capital and I was also able to admire the new concert hall, inaugurated shortly afterwards. An authentic marvel. After that, I started reading about the great Maestro Muti, I read articles about him and his works. Bref, I wanted to be prepared for the meeting with the Maestro.

Maestro Muti was born in Naples on July 28, 1941, and is a very famous conductor in Italy. He was principal conductor and musical director of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, musical director of the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, musical director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, principal conductor of the Philharmonia Orchestra, founder of the “Riccardo Muti Italian Opera Academy”, an international academy where students of conducting and opera singers can hone their skills with the great Maestro Riccardo Muti. The Maestro attended the public classical high school Leonardo da Vinci in Mulfeta, then the public classical high school Vittorio Emanuele in Naples, where he studied piano and graduated with honours from the San Pietro a Majella Conservatory. He studied composition and conducting in Milan. Maestro Muti has received numerous honours and awards, including two Germany Awards. He is particularly associated with the music of Giuseppe Verdi. Among the world’s greatest conductors, in a 2015 Bachtrack poll he was ranked by music critics as the fifth best living conductor in the world. . . The day of the Maestro’s arrival in Cairo was also that of the arrival of the members of the Vienna Philharmonic. In the company of the Egyptian organizers of the trip, I went to the airport to receive the Maestro. Everything had been perfectly organized to guarantee maximum hospitality; The airport director was also waiting for him were the, the entire security apparatus and many people. I impatiently awaited the arrival of the Maestro, and when I saw him, I introduced myself and told him that I was proud to be his official guide and assistant during his stay in Cairo

. Maestro Muti is a very elegant, kind, and particularly highly educated person., a real gentleman. The streets are empty, the Maestro’s escort and I are in the car with him. What an honour. We immediately headed to the hotel and then to the hotel restaurant, in front of which there was a piano. The Maestro immediately began to play. The organizers presented the Maestro with his bodyguard, a handsome Egyptian, tall, strong, friendly, well-educated and polite young man.

The Maestro asked me for the program of the first day, a rich program, we were going to the pyramids of Giza with the Vienna Philharmonic, and the Austrian ambassador came to salute the Maestro and the members of the Vienna Philharmonic.

In the evening, the Italian ambassador in Cairo invited the Maestro to dinner. On the evening of the second day, the first concert took place, by invitation, ambassadors and ministers were invited and the next day there was another concert. After each concert, he explained to me how the music was written, for what occasion and what it represented. His favorite musician is Verdi and the most famous opera is that of Vienna. I can say that Maestro Muti is a cultivated and sensitive gentleman, able to find the origin of each word, either   Latin or Greek; before each concert, he tries to talk with the orchestra members, he makes sure everything is going well, tries to help them and is also kind to the people who work with him. When I asked him for permission to post his photo with me, he agreed. Everyone benefited from Maestro Muti’s visit to Cairo, the organizers, the staff who worked with him, the simple sellers, and especially me, who remained proud to have been the official guide and Egyptian assistant of Maestro Muti during the visit to the Vienna Philharmonic for the inauguration of the new hall of the art centre.