Concert Review: The Idea of North

L’Orchestre symphonique de Montréal revient au Carnegie Hall.

by Paul J. Pelkonen

Conductor Kent Nagano poses n a street in vieux Montréal.

Photo from Harrison Parrott.

L’Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (for the rest of this review, referred to as the Montreal Symphony Orchestra) is one of the finest symphonic ensembles in North America. They are a stellar symphonic ensemble with a long history and a sound all their own, combining precise European string playing with the lusty, leather-lunged brass one associates with this continent. However, they have been relatively infrequent visitors to the Carnegie stage in the past  decaderecently have New Yorkers been able to hear this superb orchestra enjoyed by our neighbors to the North.

Concert Review: The Voice of the North

The Orchestra symphonique de Montréal returns to Carnegie Hall.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Kent Nagano. Photo courtesy Orchestre symphonique de Montréal. 

Ten years ago, Kent Nagano became music director of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal. Once regularly recorded with a fat contract on Decca classics the ensemble had suffered a falling-off following the abrupt 2002 exit of artistic director Charles Dutoit. As a result. the past ten years have seen only infrequent visits to venues like Carnegie Hall. On Tuesday night, the OSM returned to that historic stage with a program of Ravel, Beethoven and Stravinsky, designed to show their many strengths and hopefully guarantee more frequent visits.