I had the pleasure of attending the Chicago Symphony concerts this weekend at Carnegie Hall. The Saturday concert featuring Hector Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique and Lelio was simply superb. Riccardo Muti, who is originally from Naples, directs the CSO.
Obviously I was there principally for the music-making but I was curious to see what Muti would wear and how well it would fit him. He wore white tie at both concerts and I would venture to say his white tie rig is likely bespoke, perhaps even by a tailor from his hometown of Naples. His tailcoat featured a pagoda shoulder, a nicely shaped waist and full sleeves. The collar stayed admirably put throughout his often vigorous conducting.
