Muti to miss Chicago Symphony Orchestra concerts

Riccardo Muti to miss Chicago Symphony Orchestra concerts because of illness

CHICAGO (AP) -- The Chicago Symphony Orchestra says music director Riccardo Muti will miss three concerts and a student engagement because of flu-like symptoms.

The symphony said Wednesday that Muti has withdrawn from concerts on Jan. 17, 18 and 19. He will be replaced by guest conductor Edo de Waart.

The 71-year-old also will not attend a Monday rehearsal of the Festival Orchestra, which includes Chicago-area high school students and members of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. Conductor Miguel Harth-Bedoya of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra will replace him at the event.

This is the second time Muti has missed symphony performances. In February 2011, he was hospitalized in Chicago after fainting during a rehearsal and suffering jaw and facial fractures.