Riccardo Muti collapses

Riccardo Muti, distinguished conductor, and music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, fainted at a rehearsal with the orchestra yesterday and was hospitalized.

The conductor underwent tests and treatment for a jaw injury resulting from his fall. His condition is now stable, according to an orchestra spokesperson, and he has asked for musical scores to be brought to him.

The cause of Muti’s collapse is not yet known, but his last trip to Chicago, in October, was cut short by severe abdominal pain, which doctors diagnosed as symptomatic of acute physical exhaustion.

Last night’s concert by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra went ahead with Mitsuko Uchida stepping in to conduct. The Orchestra has stated that Leonard Slatkin will cover tonight’s performance.