Chicago Symphony director faints during rehearsal

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra says music director Riccardo Muti fainted during rehearsal and was hospitalized. Other conductors will lead upcoming performances.

Orchestra spokeswoman Maggie Berndt says Muti fainted Thursday and is under a physician's care.

Deborah Rutter, president of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association, says the 69-year-old Muti was stable and talking late Thursday afternoon. She says he suffered a laceration near his jaw when he fell.

Some of the performances were to be led by conductor and pianist Mitsuko Uchida and conductor Leonard Slatkin, who is the conductor of the striking Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

In October, Muti was hospitalized in Italy for what was later called extreme physical exhaustion. He withdrew from his fall CSO residency, but was cleared for the winter concert series, which runs through Feb. 19.