Feb. 03--Chicago Symphony Orchestra Music Director Riccardo Muti has withdrawn from his Feb. 11-20 residency here so he can recover from a hip operation following a minor accident, an orchestra spokeswoman announced Tuesday night.
The accident occurred soon after the joint tour of Taiwan, Japan, China and South Korea he and the orchestra undertook last month, said media relations director Eileen Chambers.
The accident took place at some point between the 10th and final concert of the Jan. 15-29 tour in Seoul, South Korea, and the 74-year-old conductor's immediate return home to Europe. Chambers was unable to specify the nature of the injury or exactly when it occurred.
"There were no problems on the tour whatsoever," she said. Chambers did not identify when and where the surgery took place.
A replacement conductor or conductors for Muti's two winter subscription programs -- Feb. 11-16 and Feb. 18-20 -- will be announced. The Muti/CSO special concert scheduled for Feb. 19 at Chicago's Holy Name Cathedral will be postponed, and a new date will be announced.
Muti's withdrawal from this month's concerts is not expected to affect his next scheduled CSO residency in April or the announced programs, she said.
Physical problems and accidents plagued Muti his first couple of seasons as music director, from the start of his first season at the CSO, 2010-11, forcing many weeks of cancellations.
jvonrhein@tribpub.com
