Better is one of the largest Mariinsky Theatre is one of the largest in the world. It is the central hub of all things mariinsky. I visited aware Valery Gergiev where Valery Gergiev gave me a tour. Lets start with you came to the Mariinsky Theatre because you were in your 20s. What was your first job . Valery gergiev assistant conductor. I was asked to assist. Peace. S war and another great composer. Which wasproduction shown and we went to new york and i came back 20 times. In new york city at the met, a great opera. A grand scale in any country in the world. A french composer and a russian composer. The beginning was not my choice. Tos is what you are going first cover the conduct your own performance. I am very grateful. Boss it boss, the only had in my life. In separate pair myself. Prepare myself. I was waving my head. I want to hear how it sounds. That was my first time i conducted. No one knew me. He is my assistant. I thought i would conduct for 2 minutes. I conducted on interrupted. Strange and unusual and maybe i had fear. It was at the beginning. There were many fingers. Singers. They knew there was somebody on the podium unknown. Young and experienced but somehow i managed to go through this large opera. The end of 1977. December, i remember very well. One of the last days of 1977. My first performance on the second of january. It was my debut. It was called theater. A long time. 37 years and a half. 23rlie this season is the 2nd season for the mariinsky and named after . Valery gergiev maria, and first of emperess of russia. The wife of alexander the second. Was 1860. Eater charlie thats where we met you. And still very active. Valery gergiev would go fulltime and fair. Seven or eight or more. And we have the music halls here. The new theater which is also in its own right a very beautiful building. Charlie i want to stay over there, a sense of the history. You become a music director. Eveny gergiev i was not 35. 1988 that all of me to bet voted for the assistant director. Trump how old . Charlie how old . Valery gergiev 34. Gorbachev brought a lot of changes which is a wellknown fact. Some were more than expected. It came to institutions. Economy and what ever the economy. Stagnating but in 1988, the minister of culture, from moscow talking about the ballet company. Decisionhem we made a that this is a man or woman appointed and it was not anymore excepted. The real change gorbachev brought was people started to feel people started to they are professionals and they should express their opinions and they should insist their opinion is heard. Iday not simply a dictator charlie not complete dictator . Valery gergiev that is right. Maybe 1000 people who think they make all the decisions but gorbachev brought this important change. I know him very well. We are friends. He was in moscow. Conducting in london, his 80th birthday. He asked me to do so and i did so. And of course he brought historical changes not only to this country but to the world. Music, the history of insky,hen ski chav composers who worked here there is a link to music, great music of our times. the history here is really big. I think it is important. Great russian composers. All over the world, all of the time. Musosky is good to know. All of the world again. Recent production. Charlie at some point you decided you wanted this theater to expand. Have, this is a huge commitment. Valery gergiev it is a now it is over 1000 performances a year. Only 34. 5. I understood a huge opportunity. Way, the generosity. Trust which of the company that included 60 plus or 70 plus artists, very famous. And the ballet company, the most important are 80 plus. , a is enough. Upid these are legendary people. Have the mariinsky, these are the most precious people. And to make them young. To take it and never lose it for the rest of their lives. It is a very important to have them always with us. Me werele who voted for twentysomething or 80 something and suddenly, surprisingly i was supported by 85 . Charlie why . Valery gergiev maybe somebody remembered high how i directed war and peace and maybe somebody thought i had a or strongerl character. It was difficult times. Gorbachev was still admired by many. , not to may losing be losing the country but the that thee, the problem economy. Reformsn bring other based on the economy which gives people confidence. Salaries. Then you can tell. We need more rapid changes. Gorbachev was this was not brought to the level. Thethe strong will for change was benefiting your own people. It couldve benefited every family. The economy was not working. In china in the same situation they made wise decisions to start with the economy and infighting. Charlie you made a commitment to build here in the had an architect who built the ,oundation and then you decided you saw a building you like to so much, well, toronto. Valery gergiev i was never thinking of building a new concert house or concert hall and we have both and now. Thinking, the only one advantage i have over everybody is i love music and they do, too. As a leader, i have to prove i can work hard. And they would have to work, perhaps prepare. Then we will expand and have quality and International Recognition which followed very quickly in 1988. Orchestra as then it was famous in any case. Parise seen in london or and maybe two years later, the met. In 1992 our first arrival in new york. Infirst time in america 1990. 25 years since i came the first time to america. Year. Was no single it was very important for us to build relationships. Of course, San Francisco and chicago and los angeles. Do you feel now about what this place represents . Not only are you music director and conducting but you are a builder. A guy with your own energy trying to transform an institution, where do want to go from here . Valery gergiev i have two legendary americans that come to mind. Too much to say. It was russian by the way. And another great american. Spoke a lot about them and paris and so forth. Nny did travel. He did travel to other orchestras as well. Y was there to conduct when the berlin wall went down. So did charlie he was in washington . and isaac was there to defend Carnegie Hall, the life of it. Well toim was there as give his tremendous support. There were many others. Charlie there were all there for the fall . Valery gergiev there would be anymore. There was someone who could make a decision. The hall should go down as something built. The shops or what ever. One of the symbols. The music of the world overall. Yes, you need leaders. Know if i was a born leader but i was born most probably in the right time. Look, there were great conductors here. I looked at a great conductor. Take my word seriously, i understand. Like him on earth ever. Changing from [indiscernible] [indiscernible] you see but lenny was there to help the philharmonic but also the met. To a large space. Immediate leaders. Carnegie hall needed leaders to save it. In my own small way, maybe this city our country needed a leader who would make sure that the ballet would not disappear. No more. Wait a second, there is a problem. I thought in 1988 and especially in 1999, i will make whatever it takes. , i dider happens my best to make these matters work. Charlie Riccardo Muti is here, when the preeminent conductors working today. He has led some of the worlds best orchestras including the he became atlans the 10th conductor of chicago orchestra. A look at the performance of beethovens v. Charlie he led in a three concerts but beginning january 30, i am pleased to have you back at the table. Welcome. Is that the happiest moment for you when you are there with a good orchestra, music and composers you like leaving them . Riccardo muti this is a good question. People feel happy on the podium. That to conduct a great orchestra in front of the public that knows what they are listening, it is a big challenge every time. You cannot be completely happy. Charlie willing to be there and each time thinking i can get it better this time . Riccardo muti every time. One of the most difficult is the end of the performance. If the public likes it, though public applauds and sometimes ifh Standing Ovations and you are honest with yourself, you start to think about all of the things you did not achieve. Yourself and about you have to smile to the public giving the impression you are happy. It is a contradiction. Charlie is there a metric for the perfect conducting of a symphonic piece . Measure if ity to is perfect or the best because of there is no real judge. Riccardo muti perfection does not exist. And you can try all your life to discover some of the truths that is in a score. You are faithful to what is written in the score but it is not just one part of your work. Behind the notes, you have the universe. The truth with a capital t. You cannot possess, cannot reach that point because if you are able to know the universe behind the notes, you are god. Charlie and you are not god. Riccardo muti we all have a little piece of that. We altogether become god. Altogether. Because altogether we can have the real truth. The complete truth, nobody has, not even the critics. [laughter] charlie but, it is the pursuit of that that makes a lifetime in music so exciting. Riccardo muti unique, yes. That is the pursuit of that. It takes all the entire life. I remember when i was a music director in florence and there was 27 years old, the founder of the festival. He was one of the greatest conductors of the time. He was still alive in florence. He was 90 years old. And when we met he said to me, what a pity to be near the end of life when i was starting to learn how to conduct an orchestra. That didnt mean 1, 2, 3. To conduct an orchestra means being able to get out the musicians, the best of their culture and feelings. That is conducting, not jumping on the podium and making all kinds of noise. Charlie getting the best out of the musicality of the musicians. especially when you reduce, reduce your beat. The great conductor who died said to me one time what would be so wonderful if one day we could conduct an orchestra without moving our arms. Many times, the conductor is for is an impediment for the public to enjoy the music because we are becoming more and more a visual society so we are attracted from what we see on the podium more than what we hear. Charlie what do you think you have accomplished in the past five years since he began in 2010 . Riccardo muti first, more and more i like and love the city. I think chicago is one of the most beautiful cities in this country. It is really a beautiful city. The public, the people are really what we think are the real americans. Charlie strong shoulders. Riccardo muti then with the musicians, in five years we did not have one time a friction. It was always a wonderful time to be together. I think working together, as every conductor brings, i have brought part of my culture. I come from europe and the mediterranean. I think we italians, especially the italians of the south, we have this kind of sense of delight of the beautiful sunshine that we bring into the music. Melancholy. Charlie melancholy. Riccardo muti full of light. Charlie you have also said the next five years are much more important. Riccardo muti yes, we are really one body now together. We have to use the chicago symphony and the music to heal as much we can do the world because the world is an incredible difficult time. Bloody time. Everywhere. The music is the only music does not bring words generally. Forget the opener or an auditorium. Pure music itself words are the problems. In life. Because with words you can save life. Charlie with words you can offend. Riccardo muti yes especially , when you say the truth you can offend somebody. If somebody says you are ugly, you are saying the truth sometimes. Charlie when you came to chicago, you left lascala . Why did you leave . Riccardo muti after 19 years being together with the musicians and the many good things we did around the world, it was a big problem between me and him. A big friction. Two different views, visions. That brought this fight which sometimes happens in italy they became political. You know the fact that some workers were on the left, some were on the right. It became a problem of unions. It became another thing instead of being artistic, and became political. When the politics comes into theater or opera house or concert hall it is better for , the musician to go away. Charlie at the same time, i i have her conductors say to me they tire of this sort of responsibilities of a conductor or the music director of the symphony because of fundraising, because of entertaining, because of all those other things that have to do with maintaining the orchestra, but not leading the orchestra. Riccardo muti yes. It depends very much on the people that are working for the orchestra. The board of directors, etc. In chicago, it is very wellbalanced because the sponsor is bank of america which has been very helpful and still very helpful. Then, we have a family, sam and helen, they are friends of mine. They gave a huge contribution to the orchestra for the chair of the music. So staying together one or two times a year, having dinner and making jokes it is pleasant. ,charlie are you going to take the orchestra to cuba . Riccardo muti i hope because that would be a statement of friendship. As nixon when he went to china, the philadelphia orchestra went. That was one of the cultural statements. And it helped. A went to japan the first time, it was such a revolution. Even in the restaurants, the french restaurants, they lost their competition with the italian restaurants. Charlie what would you conduct at Carnegie Hall . Riccardo muti it is three programs. Quite interesting because we bring two symphonies. It is one of the greatest composers of the Russian School together with the others. We do the first and the third symphony, the divine poem of the symphony. In the first program, we do the first piece dedicated to the sea. In english, in germany prosperous voyage. Then the first part is dedicated to the sea. The Second Program will be the concerto number two. Schumann, a german program. The Third Program will be the fifth symphony. And then one we did in chicago a few days ago. Having one day before another before the film which is a great film. In two years time, we will do another product of the collaboration between a film director and a great composer which would be ivan the terrible. Charlie on the 125th season of the orchestra . It . Riccardo muti yes. It will be the third opera. I did mcbeth and this will be the end of the season. It is an opera i have done many times. I recorded and made a video. It is an italian baritone. Today considered the it started with me. I worked with him and made him. Not because he is large because he is the right voice for this role. Charlie are you concerned about the future of music and the future of symphonic music . Riccardo muti i think the music will not disappear because if it does, it means mankind is gone. Humanity is. But we have im thinking which would be the future music will exist. But, will change completely, especially the new music. I think all this cultural influences that we are having from different parts of the world from the east china, korea, japan and south america and other parts of the world. This globalization even if it is a bad word i hate the mixture of all these cultures coming together will bring new language in music. Maybe well bring also a better relationship between public and composers because now the distance between the public and the composers that are writing music is too wide. And so this makes it very difficult for the new music to survive because we have thousands of composers around the world. They write their music. When we conduct the score one time or two times, we feel morally in order. And then we forget the piece, after the second performance and the public also. Incredible composers we had at the beginning of the 20th century with their life also the music is gone. And so what that means we have to find in the future a way that composers and the public can communicate much more than today. Charlie philip glass is here, one of the most influential composers of its type. He change the landscape of his music along with steve reich and terry riley prefers to call himself a composer of music. Years, he has0 created more than 40 operas and film scores and chamber music. His new memoir takes a look at the life that accompanies the music. It is called words without music. I am pleased to have philip glass back. Anything you want to disagree with with the introduction . Philip glass what i usually say is i write to music. It changes. Thats what i like. It is what i do. Charlie writing theater music . What is it . opera and film and can be dance. Anything that involves collaboration. Charlie collaboration and performance . Philip glass i am talking movement. And i have done i have written because they asked me to write them. Remember is the other stuff. But you started to write another memoir and that reason is you want it to look at . Philip glass i was going to do a different one and i started looking at myself. I wanted to talk about the people i knew. Charlie and you ended up with this opening sentence. Quote, if you go to new york city to study music, you will end up like your uncle henry, spending your life traveling from city to city and living in hotels. You then say that was my mother, ida glass. When she heard of my plants, i was sitting with her at my Kitchen Table in baltimore heading back to home after returning from the university of chicago. Philip that is a pretty good reading. [laughter] philip she was a school teacher, librarian. The family wanted me to study music. We were not supposed to become musicians. There was a history of musicians in the family, and that was considered not the best way, that was not what they had in mind for us. I had just finished the university of chicago and i was a young guy. I had gone to the early ce program, intran graduated from university at 19. I did not go into medicine or law or anything reasonable. I decided to pursue what i wanted to do, which was music. Charlie god bless you for that. Everybody ought to do that, pursue what they really want to do. Philip my mother lived long enough to see me at metropolitan opera. In a way we never referred to that conversation. She was also concerned about what i was doing. My dad had a record store. She was a literary person. She liked books. She was a librarian. Charlie she thought you had talent. Philip i dont think she would have known. My dad like music. She did not particularly like music. I would practice in the kitchen. I did not like playing alone. I was probably performing for my mother when i was eight or nine years old. Eventually i performed charlie is the ability to be able to create music either as a composer or vocalist, a player, some different skill that people have . Or is it something you can develop .