With Riccardo Muti officially out, the race to find a successor is on at La Scala. But there aren’t many realistic candidates. “Muti’s successor will almost certainly have to be Italian and will be hard to find. The front-runners are probably Daniele Gatti, who is both music director of London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and of Bologna’s Teatro Comunale, and Riccardo Chailly, who has recently left his post in Amsterdam to become music director in Leipzig. He has not yet arrived in Germany, however, which might make him more easily available… Another name being mentioned as a successor is Antonio Pappano, music director of Covent Garden.” And then there is the contingent that actually wants to convince Muti’s predecessor, Claudio Abbado, to retake the reins.