Riccardo Chailly
Riccardo Chailly is a dynamic and sometimes controversial conductor known for his devotion to contemporary music and for his attempts to modernize approaches to the traditional symphonic repertory. His many recordings for the Decca label include modern masterworks by Zemlinsky, Hindemith, and Schnittke, the symphonies of Gustav Mahler, and a number of operas. In 2021, Decca issued a box set of Chailly conducting the complete works of Stravinsky, and he led the La Scala Theater Orchestra in backing Anna Netrebko on her album Amata dalle Tenebre.
Chailly was born in Milan on February 20, 1953. The son of composer Luciano Chailly and an occasional rhythm & blues drummer, Chailly began his conducting career as Claudio Abbado's assistant at La Scala, cutting his teeth on the standard operatic literature. He attained considerable success as an opera conductor in his own right, making guest appearances at London's Covent Garden, the Metropolitan Opera, and numerous Italian and German houses; he also made several notable recordings, including an Andre Chénier with Luciano Pavarotti. Nevertheless, he decided to focus his energies on symphonic conducting instead, feeling that it offered a wider avenue for artistic exploration. To that end, he became the principal conductor of the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra in 1982, eventually leading them on their first North American tour in 1985; he was also the principal guest conductor of the London Philharmonic from 1982 to 1985.
In 1988, the newly rechristened Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra named the 35-year-old Chailly as its chief conductor and artistic director. This would prove to be the defining post of his career, and he would cut back on his touring and operatic engagements to make it the center of his artistic activities. The relationship with both the orchestra and its audience was rocky at first, marked by resentment toward his "modernistic" approach to the works of Bruckner, Mahler, and Brahms. (Among other things, Chailly moved the group away from its signature sound and toward a more flexible palette of orchestral color, adaptable to the needs of each composer.) However, after that adjustment, Chailly assumed a position of confident leadership over the group, maintaining its position as one of Europe's finest ensembles but also establishing it as a source of innovation and fresh perspective. Chailly left the Concertgebouw in 2004, and was replaced by Mariss Jansons.
Chailly was the first music director of the Orchestra symphonica Giuseppe Verdi, serving from 1999 until 2005. In 2005, he assumed a new post with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, where he served until 2016. In 2015, Chailly was named music director of La Scala in Milan, and the following year was named to the same role with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra. He has conducted orchestras across Europe and the U.S., including such illustrious groups as the Berlin Philharmonic, the New York Philharmonic, and the Chicago Symphony.
Chailly is a noted champion of Edgard Varèse and Alexander Zemlinsky, both of whom he feels have been under-appreciated. He also maintains an interest in the performance practice of the Baroque era, and in his performances of Bach's St. Matthew Passion, he attempts to balance the sound of the modern orchestra with the style of the period. As an operatic conductor, Chailly has made several notable Rossini recordings, including La Cenerentola, starring Cecilia Bartoli. In 2019, Chailly released an album dedicated to Nino Rota's music for films by Federico Fellini, as well as a La Scala production of Puccini's Madame Butterfly. In 2021, Chailly and the La Scala Theater Orchestra backed soprano Anna Netrebko on the album Amata dalle Tenebre, and Decca issued the Stravinsky Edition box set containing Chailly's recordings of all of that composer's works. That year, the Lucerne Festival Orchestra extended Chailly's contract until 2026.
© Allen Schrott & Keith Finke /TiVo
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Verdi: Overtures
Riccardo Chailly, National Philharmonic Orchestra
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan 1, 1983
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler: Das klagende Lied
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Oct 1, 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Messiaen: Turangalîla Symphony
Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Takashi Harada, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan 1, 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi: Ballet Music
Riccardo Chailly, Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Sep 1, 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bruckner: Symphony No. 5
Riccardo Chailly, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Aug 2, 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Piano Concertos Deluxe Edition
Ramin Bahrami, Riccardo Chailly, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig
Classical - Released by Universal Music Italia srL. on Jan 1, 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bruckner: Symphony No. 4
Riccardo Chailly, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan 1, 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Violin Concerto; Hungarian Dances; Bartók: Rhapsodies
Leonidas Kavakos, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Riccardo Chailly, Peter Nagy
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Oct 21, 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rossini : La Cenerentola
Cecilia Bartoli, Coro del Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Riccardo Chailly
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Sep 21, 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Respighi
Filarmonica della Scala, Riccardo Chailly
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Sep 11, 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Rossini : Guglielmo Tell (in Italian)
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan 1, 1980
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
George Gershwin : Rhapsody in Blue - Piano Concerto...
Stefano Bollani, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Riccardo Chailly
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan 1, 2010
Gramophone: Recording of the Month16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rossini: Overtures
Riccardo Chailly, National Philharmonic Orchestra
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Oct 1, 1981
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 7 & 8
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Riccardo Chailly
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan 1, 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Shostakovich: The Dance Album
Philadelphia Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan 1, 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stravinsky: Divertimento; Suites 1 & 2; Octet; Fanfare for a New Theatre; 3 Pieces for Solo Clarinet
Riccardo Chailly, London Sinfonietta
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Feb 1, 1986
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach, J.S.: Weihnachts Oratorium
Dresdner Kammerchor, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Riccardo Chailly
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan 1, 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Giordano: Andrea Chénier
Luciano Pavarotti, Montserrat Caballé, Leo Nucci, Welsh National Opera Chorus, National Philharmonic Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan 1, 1984
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler 2 "Resurrection Symphony"; Totenfeier
Riccardo Chailly, Melanie Diener, Petra Lang, Prague Philharmonic Choir, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan 1, 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Symphonies Nos.5 & 6
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Riccardo Chailly
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan 1, 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Shostakovich: The Jazz Album
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan 1, 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo