The Montreal Symphony Orchestra celebrates its 90th anniversary with a memorable concert performed three times this week.
I attended the second concert on Tuesday evening. I have never seen the hall of the Maison symphonique so crowded and full of life. The balconies were crowded and there wasn't a single free chair on the floor. However, Rafaël Payare, recently head of the OSM, has not chosen a simple program for this 90th anniversary. At the beginning the Violin Concerto No. 1 by Karol Szymanowki, a Polish composer who was born in a small Russian village that became Ukraine, and in the second part the Symphony No. 7 by Gustav Mahler.
If Dutch violinist Simone Lamsma truly mesmerized the room with her clear and precise interpretation of a concerto that isn't often played (Chantal Juillet played it at the OSM in 1991), then it was a single leap that kept the audience in for a very long time Riot caused ovations after Mahler's symphony.
It must be said that Rafaël Payare is tailor-made to conduct Mahler's music. This 7th Symphony in particular is a feast for the eyes and ears and, as we would say in Quebec, “no ordinary work”! Slow and mysterious at first, the music then becomes squeaky or plaintive, loud or wild, before reaching a dissonant and crazy apotheosis. The musicians are sweating, Payare is in a tea towel and the entire audience is glued to their seats, stunned. Fortunately, the orchestra has two days off until the final concert on Saturday.
ANTONIA NANTEL AND LETONDAL
What a fabulous journey the OSM has taken since it was founded by Wilfrid Pelletier, Athanase David and Antonia Nantel, his wife. We owe her the OSM in particular. To her and also to the actor Henri Letondal, who was also a cellist. Henri Letondal, music critic for the daily La Patrie and contributor to Le Petit Journal, playwright and radio presenter with Juliette Béliveau, never missed an opportunity to call on Montreal notables of the time, including Madame Nantel, to found a symphony orchestra.
In the end we sorted things out and exhumed Madame Nantel from oblivion. Two years ago the foyer of the Maison symphonique was named after him. Until then, this meeting point was called “Allegro”. “Little by little,” said Madeleine Careau, CEO of OSM, “history is restoring the facts and giving women the recognition they deserve.” One day we will also have to recognize the tireless work that Madeleine Careau has been doing for more than twenty years.
A COMMUNICATIVE FIRE
After the premature and unexpected resignation of Charles Dutoit, still responsible for the OSM's international prominence, Madeleine Careau managed to harpoon Kent Nagano. She had literally followed him around the world. The American conductor of Japanese origin adopted Quebec and remained in office until 2020, further highlighting the OSM's international reputation.
At the beginning of 2021, Madeleine Careau wanted to retire following the departure of Nagano and the appointment of Rafaël Payare. The young Venezuelan chef's enthusiasm seems to have given her a new face and she no longer talks about retirement. Despite its 90 years, it was a very young orchestra that I saw at work on Tuesday evening.