Maestro Kent Nagano’s last artistic program with the Orchestre symphonique de Montreal’s 2019-20 season was revealed at a special ‘unveiling’ for the media on February 28th at the Maison symphonique. The program will feature more than 100 concerts with celebrations, prestigious invited guests and performances of great masterpieces of the symphonic repertoire. It will be a season to remember, albeit bittersweet knowing it will be the Maestro’s last.
The OSM began a new era in 2004 with Kent Nagano at the helm. His dynamic and energetic, ‘future-oriented’ vision of the whole organization helped the Orchestra to evolve artistically and his charisma changed the image of the OSM – his undeniable talent and passion reaching deep into the hearts of Montrealers. And now, after 16 years and more than 500 concerts with the Orchestra, the Maestro will be taking his final bow as Music Director of the OSM at the end of the 2020 summer season. With a spirit both traditional and modern, the Maison symphonique will welcome several of his close collaborators to celebrate his prodigious legacy.
Nagano’s love of music and immense love of culture has made a mark on the imaginations of Montrealers. His commitment to making the symphony accessible to everyone are now instilled among the great OSM traditions, becoming an integral part of the Orchestra’s heritage since its foundation. He is also credited with the formidable success of the OSM’s new chamber music series, the formation of the OSM Chorus, the triumph of the Classical Spree, tours in the Americas, Europe and Asia, recordings on the Analekta, Sony, ECM and DECCA labels, community outreach, awards, broadly innovative concerts and above all, access to symphonic concerts for everyone.
His legacy will also include ‘La musique aux enfants’. The project, inaugurated in November of 2016, aimed at introducing preschool-age children to intensive music learning, was conceived by the Maestro and organized by the OSM in partnership with the Universite de Montreal and the Pointe-de-l’Île School Board. The objective of the project is designed to support children in their overall development and in doing so, contribute to their academic success over the long term. Nagano states on the website, “…I myself had the chance to learn music at a very young age. It did not make me so much the conductor that I am today that a person free to choose his destiny. To offer music to children is to inspire hope and the feeling that everything is possible”.
Thank you Maestro Nagano for sharing your music and making this world a better place! Here is the 2019-2020 season at a glance (for details go to www.osm.ca/en/calendar):
– OPENING CONCERT: the season begins with three powerful works — Shostakovich’s Symphony no. 13 Babi Yar, Shoenberg’s Six Pieces for Male Chorus, and Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
– CLOSING CONCERT: Kent Nagano conducts Mahler’s momentous Symphony no. 2
– Faure’s moving Requiem and two landmark works by Messiaen
– A festival devoted to the famous Viennese composer Franz SCHUBERT, conducted by Kent Nagano
– TOUR OF THE AMERICAS: seven concerts in Latin America, one in Chicago, one in Toronto, and a 45th performance at CARNEGIE HALL
– ¡OLÉ!: The OSM shines with the colours of SPAIN under Spanish conductor Juanjo Mena
– ANNE-SOPHIE MUTTER performs works by Beethoven
– VALERY GERGIEV conducts the Orchestra in a performance of Bruckner’s astounding Symphony no. 9
– A MUSIC AND FILM SERIES with projection of three classic films, series with new subscription package!
– ÉCLATÉ CONCERT: FASHION, MUSIC, AND MOVEMENT in collaboration with designer Marie Saint Pierre
– CHRISTMAS WITH THE OSM
Nearly twenty years after my very first collaboration with the OSM as a guest conductor, the 2019–2020 season provides the Orchestra with a new opportunity to offer themes that engage with a variety of perspectives and experiences: we hope they will be a source of wonder and vitality for our audience members while remaining at the forefront of our modern lives. – Kent Nagano
