Chicago Symphony Names New Director

Riccardo Muti, the Italian conductor who has led many of the world's most important orchestras, has been appointed music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Mr. Muti, 66, signed a five-year contract and will start the job in September 2010, the orchestra said in a press release today. In January, he will begin overseeing auditions and handle planning for future seasons, according to the symphony.

The maestro from Naples has been without a major appointment since March 2005, when an internal coup forced him out of Milan's Teatro alla Scala opera house, where he had been the music director for almost two decades.

Mr. Muti succeeds Daniel Barenboim, the pianist and conductor who left the job in 2006. He is no stranger to the area or the orchestra. He made his debut with the CSO at the Ravinia Festival in 1973, and conducted the Chicago Symphony Orchestra during a monthlong residency in September.