The Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra (french: Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, OPMC) is the main orchestra in the Principality of Monaco. The orchestra gives concerts primarily in the Auditorium Rainier III, but also performs at the Salle des Princes in the Grimaldi Forum.

History

The orchestra was founded in 1856 and gave its first concert on 14 December 1856, with an ensemble of 15 musicians, at the "Maison de jeux" ( the future casino), under the direction of Alexandre Hermann. By 1874, the orchestra had increased in size to 70 musicians, in particular during the leadership of Eusèbe Lucas. In 1953, Prince Rainier III had ordered the renaming of the ensemble to ''L'Orchestre National de l'Opéra de Monte-Carlo''. The orchestra acquired its current name in 1980, again through Rainier III. Past principal conductors of the orchestra have included Paul Paray,

Louis Frémaux Louis Joseph Félix Frémaux (13 August 1921 – 20 March 2017) was a French conductor. Life and career Frémaux was born in Aire-sur-la-Lys, France and came from an artistic background; his father was a painter, and his wife was a music teac ...

, Igor Markevitch, Lovro von Matačić, Lawrence Foster, Gianluigi Gelmetti, James DePreist, Marek Janowski, and Yakov Kreizberg. Kreizberg had originally been signed to a contract of five years, but his tenure was truncated by his death in March 2011. In March 2012, the OPMC and its president, Princess Caroline of Monaco, announced the return of Gelmetti to the orchestra as ''chef référent'' to provide interim artistic leadership for the orchestra. In January 2013, the OPMC formalised the full re-appointment of Gelmetti as its artistic director and music director. Gelmetti concluded his second OPMC tenure after the 2015–2016 season and subsequently took the title of honorary conductor.

Kazuki Yamada Kazuki Yamada (山田和樹; born 26 January 1979) is a Japanese conductor. Biography Yamada was born in Hadano, Kanagawa Prefecture. He studied music, with a focus on percussion, at the Tokyo University of the Arts, where his conducting teach ...

first guest-conducted the OPMC in 2011. In the fall of 2013, he became the OPMC's principal guest conductor. In April 2015, the OPMC announced the appointment of Yamada as its next principal conductor and artistic director, effective September 2016, with an initial contract of three years. In September 2020, the OPMC announced the most recent contract extension for Yamada, through the 2023-2024 season.

Principal Conductors

* Alexandre Hermann * Carlo Allegri (1860–1861) * Eusèbe Lucas (1861–1871) * Arthur Steck (1885–1894) * Léon Jehin (1894–1928) * Paul Paray (1928–1933) * Henri Tomasi (1946–1947) *

(1956–1965) * Claudio Scimone (1965–1967) * Igor Markevitch (1967–1972) * Lovro von Matačić (1972–1979) * Lawrence Foster (1980–1990) * Gianluigi Gelmetti (1990–1991) * James DePreist (1994–1998) * Marek Janowski (2000–2006) * Yakov Kreizberg (2009–2011) * Gianluigi Gelmetti (2013–2016) *

(2016–present)

Selected discography

* ''Fantasies, Rhapsodies and Daydreams''. Works by

Camille Saint-Saëns Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (; 9 October 183516 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic music, Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), the Piano C ...

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...

Ralph Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams, (; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...

Pablo de Sarasate Pablo Martín Melitón de Sarasate y Navascués (; 10 March 1844 – 20 September 1908), commonly known as Pablo de Sarasate, was a Spanish (Navarrese) violin virtuoso, composer and conductor of the Romantic period. His best known works include ...

Jules Massenet Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are '' Manon'' (1884) and ''Werther' ...

Arabella Steinbacher Arabella Miho Steinbacher (born 14 November 1981) is a German classical violinist. Biography Steinbacher was born in Munich to a Japanese mother and a German father. When she was three, her mother read that a German violin teacher had recentl ...

, Lawrence Foster, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo. PENTATONE PTC 5186536 (2016).

References

External links

Official orchestra homepage, French-language version

HarrisonParrott agency press release on the death of Yakov Kreizberg, 20 March 2011
{{Authority control 1856 establishments in Monaco Musical groups established in 1856 Monegasque orchestras