The Montreal Symphony Orchestra and its ninth music director seal new relationship
The Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal (OSM) and conductor Rafael Payare have just extended their relationship for another five years, taking them to the 2031-32 season. The Venezuelan-born conductor, who is graduate of his country’s El Sistema programme, has been the OSM’s Music Director since 2021 and is the orchestra’s ninth in its 91-year history – previous incumbents have included Otto Klemperer, Igor Markevitch, Zubin Mehta, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Charles Dutoit and, most recently, Kent Nagano. Payare’s commitment to the OSM each season is for 14-16 weeks.
As part of this new agreement, Payare will assume the title of Music and Artistic Director to ‘reflect his desire to shape the future of the OSM beyond programming and his presence on the podium’ and further strengthen his commitment to music education in the city and beyond with the creation of the Programme El Sistema OSM to enable young people from Montréal-Nord to encounter orchestral music completely free of charge.
‘It is pure joy to see the relationship between Rafael and the Orchestra continue so seamlessly,’ commented the OSM’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Mélanie La Couture. ‘Since his first moment on the podium, a symbiotic connection was established with the musicians. His conducting style, both rigorous and radiant, reflects his deep respect for the members of the Orchestra. Owing to the strength of his artistic vision, he excels in steering the Orchestra to new heights. His community engagement energizes the OSM’s profile and makes the Orchestra more accessible and open. Rafael’s vision is now an integral part of the OSM’s DNA, to our immense delight.’ And Payare said that ‘the love and connection I share with the Orchestra’s musicians, just like the warm reception I continue to receive from the Montreal community, make me blessed to carry forward this wonderful relationship with the OSM. My family and I have made Montreal our home out of love for this cultural and gastronomical metropolis, and we are proud to be Montrealers. Since my appointment, I have pursued cycles devoted to the works of Mahler and Shostakovich, while also giving pride of place to Québécois, Canadian and Latin American works and artists.’
Also just announced are details of the OSM and Payare’s two forthcoming tours: in August they travel to the Edinburgh Festival for two concerts (August 19 and 20). The first will be rare outing for Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s The Song of Hiawatha, for which they will be joined by soloists Nicky Spence (tenor), Francesca Chiejina (soprano) and Christopher Maltman (baritone), and the Edinburgh Festival Chorus. The second concert will feature new works by two Canadian composers – Ana Sokolović’s You Can Die Properly Now with Emma Pennell (soprano) and Ian Cusson’s Un cri s’élève en moi with Elisabeth St-Gelais (soprano) – as well as Gabriela Ortiz’s Dzonot with Payare’s wife, the cellist Alisa Weilerstein, and Richard Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben. The orchestra will then travel to Warsaw (where the two Chopin piano concertos will be performed by Kevin Chen and Eric Lu), Aarhus and Hamburg. In October, orchestra and conductor will give three concerts in San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego – at the Jacobs Music Center, home of Payare’s other orchestra, the San Diego Symphony. In California they will be joined by violinist Leonidas Kavakos for concerts by Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky.
The OSM and Payare will continue their relationship with Pentatone – they have already released four albums together (including a much-admired Mahler Fifth, a Gramophone Editor’s Choice in June 2023), and a further one, due later this year, will couple two Diaghliev ballet commissions from consecutive years, Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé and Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring.
