Muti -- "fun facts"

The Sun-Times wanted to know Il Maestro's favorite color and Beatle.

Here's a longer version of what I filed. A somewhat shorter version ran in today's paper as "Riccardo Muti, Off the Podium."

Born: Naples, July 28, 1941

Family: Father a doctor and amateur musician, mother a singer. He's one of five brothers, all of whom studied music -- but only Muti became a professional musician. The others: a maritime economist, an engineer, a sociologist, and a psychiatrist, all in Italy

Spouse: Christina Mazzavillani, a former singer, stage director, and founder and chief of the Ravenna Festival

Children: Sons Francesco and Domenico, an architect and a lawyer, respectively, both involved in historic preservation. Daughter, actress and singer Chiara Muti (2001 Muti family photo, courtesy the brilliant and enterprising Opera Chic. See "His biggest fan," below.)

One grandchild: 6 month old Riccardo Muti (!), son of Francesco and his wife Susanna

Residence: Ravenna, Italy; second home in Anif, Austria, next to Salzburg; small farmland and ancient stone houses in the Apulia region of southern Italy

Teacher and mentor: Nino Rota, composer for Federico Fellini's films and for Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather. Muti's also a fan of film composer Ennio Morricone.

Favorite food: All Italian, all the time

Favorite restaurants: Among them, San Pietro in New York and Coco Pazzo in Chicago

Idea of a good time: Rummaging through old manuscripts at the Conservatorio San Pietro a Maiella in Naples; studying scores on vacations to such out of the way islands as the Seychelles and the Maldives

Dislikes: Parties, celebrity, too much socializing

Sense of humor: Wicked

Cars: Italian, sports. Natch.

Hair: Envied by all.

Favorite team: Naples -- yep, that kind of football.

What's on his iPod: Nothing. He doesn't have one. When asked by the Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore last year, he replied "iPod?! Cos'è?" ("What's that?") As with many conductors, he prefers not to listen to much recorded music. Through his children, he has enjoyed Italian singer-pianist Paolo Conte.

His biggest fan: Opera Chic. Proprietess of one of the world's great weblogs. Said to be an American gal in Milan.