[music]
>> RICCARDO MUTI: My first rehearsal with the Philharmonia was in November 1972.
I remember that this was my debut in London
and I was very nervous to meet this famous orchestra
in a city like London that was and still is
one of the musical capitals of the world.
[music]
>> RICCARDO MUTI: In the beginning I was very shocked about this invitation,
but because the invitation came from the orchestra,
from the musicians of the orchestra,
after three months of thinking,
yes, no, no, yes, yes, no,
I decided to accept.
[music]
>> RICCARDO MUTI: We started together,
to create seasons that would attract interest,
to help new generations,
new young people to come to the concerts,
and to start also to make records.
And little, by little, with the help of new people
we made hundreds of recordings,
not only in the symphonic repertoire,
but also in the operatic repertoire.
So the family became a wonderful family
and so every time I was able to come back
and to make music with them
I was always impressed by the fact
that the orchestra has kept the high standard of quality,
this special sound
that always was distinctive of the Philharmonia.
They were fantastic years, you know, the 70s.
We started from niente
and of course I didn’t make jokes, I worked!
OK, allora! Now comes… OK I will go back now to the 70s.
OK, benissimo. Now, lettera B, andiamo! Lettera B!
[laughs]
>> GORDON HUNT, OBOE: He is always at the service of the music
and he never demands more from the players than he demands from himself.
It’s always been like that,
right from the first time I met him.
[music]
>> ANN BARBER, CELLO: He’s very particular, but he smiles now, you know.
He does it with joy, you know,
and everybody loves him.
[music]
>> RICCARDO MUTI: Every time I come back
I feel like the old family is still here,
even if there are many new musicians
because years have gone.
We are talking about 38 years ago
when I started with the Philharmonia.
This tradition of the old players of the 70s
still remains here with new spirit,
with new ideas,
but because some of the players of the past are still here,
this tradition has never been interrupted.
>> RICCARDO MUTI: Lettera Dora, one F. Because [sings] and suddenly, pah! fortissimo!
Possiamo fare from [sings]. Before Dora,uno, due, tre, quattro, cinque,sei, sette, otto,
nove, dieci,10 bars before…
Possiamo fare from [sings]. Before Dora,uno, due, tre, quattro, cinque,sei, sette, otto,
nove, dieci,10 bars before…
>> RICCARDO MUTI: The experience I have today
is different from the experience of a young conductor in 1972.
So practically, when I go in front of the Philharmonia
or in front of other orchestras,
I don’t have to prove,
Or in my mind, it’s not that I have to prove to the musicians
that I am a good conductor or I can make a good interpretation,
it’s just that immediately I can make music.
This is a big, important achievement
that you can do with an orchestra that believes in you,
and you believe in the orchestra,
and I felt today even if I have seen many musicians
there are new musicians that I have seen for the first time
that there was a trust.
They were waiting for me, I was waiting for them,
and immediately we could make music.
I don’t know if it was good or bad from my point of view,
but certainly we were one body together,
two persons in one, immediately.
[music]
>> GORDON HUNT: Both in rehearsals and concerts
he is superbly clear
so that when he decides to shape a phrase a little bit differently
there is no doubt about the way it’s going
and phrasing is one of his big things.
[music]
>> RICCARDO MUTI: It’s always difficult to explain
what is the sound of the orchestra.
The fact that Karajan was here,
that Klemperer was here with the orchestra for many years,
left this kind of, I would not say Germanic sound,
but a depth in the sound and a roundness in the sound,
and a cantabilità, a way of singing,
that makes this orchestra very, very special.
And so I think the Eroica in this case,
it’s a gesture of
admiration for what the musicians
of different generations going back to the 50s have made.
So it was a form of heroism to be able to keep this orchestra alive
in a moment, especially when the orchestra
could collapse after the departure of Karajan
in the period of the New Philharmonia.
So now the Philharmonia is back
and considering the history of these musicians,
we can say that they were heroes
and that’s Eroica.
[music]
>> RICCARDO MUTI: What is important is at this stage of my life is
to bring music to the people because
I really believe this.
I’ve said this for 40 years
that music is the best ambassador today
to bring people together
because musicians of different languages,
different races, different colours of skin,
different religions, they can fight about many things,
but when they sit together and they play the same music,
and they express the same feelings,
immediately a kind of friendship, and love, and respect,
and mutual understanding happens.
[music]