
As Riccardo Muti approaches the June 27 conclusion of his 13-year tenure as music director of the Chicago Symphony, he has chosen to steer clear of mini-festivals, highlights series or showy blockbusters to mark his departure.
Indeed, with one notable exception — the June 23-25 performances of Beethoven’s mighty choral work, “Missa Solemnis” — he has stuck to more or less “normal” programs, signaling that this is a transition but it is by no means good-bye.