The Montreal Symphony Orchestra () is a Canadian

symphony orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

based in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. The orchestra’s home is the Montreal Symphony House at Place des Arts.

History

Several orchestras were precursor ensembles to the current OSM. One such orchestra was formed in 1897, which lasted ten years, and another was established in 1930, which lasted eleven. The current orchestra directly traces its roots back to 1934, when Wilfrid Pelletier formed an ensemble called Les Concerts Symphoniques. This ensemble gave its first concert January 14, 1935, under conductor Rosario Bourdon. The orchestra acquired its current name in 1954. In the early 1960s, as the Orchestra was preparing to move to new facilities at Place des Arts, patron and prominent Montreal philanthropist, John Wilson McConnell, purchased the 1727 '' Laub-Petschnikoff Stradivarius'' violin for Calvin Sieb, the Symphony's concertmaster. The orchestra has begun touring and some recording in the 1960s and early 1970s, during the tenures of

Zubin Mehta Zubin Mehta (born 29 April 1936) is an Indian conductor of Western classical music. He is music director emeritus of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) and conductor :wikt:emeritus, emeritus of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Mehta's father ...

and Franz-Paul Decker. During the music directorship of

Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos (born Rafael Frühbeck; 15 September 1933 – 11 June 2014) was a Spanish conductor and composer. Frühbeck was born in Burgos, Spain to a family of German ancestry. He first took up conducting while on military serv ...

(1975–1976) the OSM received its first invitation to perform at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

. However, Frühbeck de Burgos had rejected the composition ''Fleuves'' by Gilles Tremblay, which Tremblay had composed for tour performances by the OSM. In addition, Frühbeck de Burgos was quoted in print in ''La Presse'' as expressing public criticism of selected OSM musicians. The ensuing controversy led to Frühbeck de Burgos' resignation. (When Frühbeck de Burgos returned as a guest conductor in 2002, he apologised for his earlier behaviour.) Conducting dates opened up after Frühbeck de Burgos' departure, and one of the slots went to Charles Dutoit. Dutoit subsequently became music director of the OSM in 1977. Dutoit had struck a friendship with the London/Decca records producer Ray Minshull, which led to a twenty-year recording partnership with Decca/London. During this period, Dutoit and the OSM released many recordings and embarked on tours of North America, Europe, Asia, and South America. Most notable among this discography are the recordings of the French repertoire, especially the music of

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

, as well as works of Stravinsky and Debussy. The OSM and Dutoit won various awards for their recordings, including the Grand Prix du Président de la République (France) and the Prix mondial du Disque de Montreux. The OSM won

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

awards in 1996 for its recording of

Hector Berlioz Louis-Hector Berlioz (11 December 1803 – 8 March 1869) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer and conductor. His output includes orchestral works such as the ''Symphonie fantastique'' and ''Harold en Italie, Harold in Italy'' ...

' ''

Les Troyens ''Les Troyens'' (; in English: ''The Trojans'') is a French grand opera in five acts, running for about five hours, by Hector Berlioz. The libretto was written by Berlioz himself from Virgil's epic poem the ''Aeneid''; the score was composed be ...

'' and in 2000 for

Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''. , group=n ( – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor who l ...

and

Béla Bartók Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as Hunga ...

piano concerti with

Martha Argerich Martha Argerich (; ; born 5 June 1941) is an Argentine classical concert pianist. Born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argerich gave her debut concert at the age of eight before receiving further piano training in Europe. At an early age, she won sev ...

on EMI. It has additionally won a number of

Juno Award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

s and Felix Awards. The London/Decca recordings ceased in the late 1990s due to market changes in the classical recording industry. In 1998, OSM musicians took strike action for three weeks that was resolved largely due to the personal relationship between Dutoit and

Lucien Bouchard Lucien Bouchard (; born December 22, 1938) is a Canadian lawyer, diplomat and retired politician. A minister for two years in the 24th Canadian Ministry, Mulroney cabinet, Bouchard then founded and led the Bloc Québécois and became Leader ...

, then the premier of

. In 2002, Dutoit abruptly resigned as music director, following a long-simmering dispute between Dutoit and the OSM musicians. Dutoit did not return to the OSM as a guest conductor until 2016. Following the departure of Dutoit, Jacques Lacombe served as principal guest conductor of the OSM, from 2002 to 2006. In March 2003, the orchestra announced the appointment

Kent Nagano Kent George Nagano (born November 22, 1951) is an American conductor and opera administrator. Since 2015, he has been ''Generalmusikdirektor'' (GMD) of the Hamburg State Opera (until 2025). Early life and education Nagano was born in Berkeley, ...

as its new music director, starting in 2006. He gave his first concert in Montreal as music director-designate on 30 March 2005. Later in 2005, the OSM's musicians took industrial action, where this work stoppage lasted five months, ending shortly before Nagano's first scheduled concerts. With the OSM, Nagano conducted commercial recordings for such labels as ECM New Series and Analekta. During his tenure, the OSM acquired an octobass, the only orchestra in the world with a functioning octobass. In June 2017, the OSM announced that Nagano is to stand down from as its music director at the close of his current contract, at the end of the 2019–2020 season. Nagano concluded his OSM music directorship at the close of the 2019–2020 season, with the scheduled final concerts of his tenure curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2018, the orchestra toured several Cree and Inuit communities in

Nord-du-Québec Nord-du-Québec (; ) is the largest, but the least populous, of the seventeen administrative regions of Quebec, Canada. Spread over nearly 14 degrees of latitude, north of the 49th parallel, the region covers on the Labrador Peninsula, making ...

to perform ''Chaakapesh: The Trickster's Quest'', an indigenous opera by Tomson Highway and Matthew Ricketts. The tour was documented by

Roger Frappier Roger Frappier (born April 14, 1945) is a Canadian producer, director, editor, actor, and screenwriter. Biography Roger Frappier worked in all areas of the film business, from film critic to television commercial director to director/ producer of ...

and Justin Kingsley in the 2019 documentary film '' Chaakapesh''. In 2018, Rafael Payare first guest-conducted the OSM. He returned as guest conductor in 2019. In January 2021, the OSM announced the appointment of Payare as its next music director, effective with the 2022–2023 season, with an initial contract of 5 seasons. He held the title of music director-designate in the 2021–2022 season. Madeleine Careau has served as chief executive officer of the OSM since February 2000. Careau is scheduled to stand down from the post in June 2024. In May 2024, the OSM announced the appointment of Mélanie La Couture as its next CEO. Additional work by the OSM has included a collaboration with Les Cowboys Fringants on the 2023 live album ''En concert avec l’Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (sous la direction du chef Simon Leclerc)'', which won the

for Francophone Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2024.

Music directors and leaders

* Wilfrid Pelletier (1935–1940) * Désiré Defauw (1941–1952) * Otto Klemperer (1950–1953; Artistic Advisor) * Igor Markevitch (1957–1961) *

(1961–1967) * Franz-Paul Decker (1967–1975) *

(1975–1976) * Charles Dutoit (1977–2002) *

(2006–2020) * Rafael Payare (2022–present)

Conductors Emeriti

* Wilfrid Pelletier * Zubin Mehta * Kent Nagano (2021)

References

External links

Orchestre symphonique de Montreal official website
{{Authority control Orchestras in Montreal Musical groups established in 1934 Juno Award for Classical Album of the Year – Large Ensemble or Soloist(s) with Large Ensemble Accompaniment winners Tourist attractions in Montreal Arts organizations established in 1934 1934 establishments in Quebec Juno Award for Classical Album of the Year – Solo or Chamber Ensemble winners Juno Award for Classical Album of the Year – Vocal or Choral Performance winners Félix Award winners Juno Award for Francophone Album of the Year winners

History

Music directors and leaders

Conductors Emeriti

See also

References

External links