OSM reconnects with live audiences in April and May

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Montreal, March 25, 2021 – More than ever before, spring in Montreal heralds rebirth, and the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal is all set to welcome its cherished public back to the Maison symphonique! Today, we announce our four events for spring 2021, each one led by a different conductor. Of these four new concerts available via webcast, two will also take place before a live audience, in five performances April 7 and 8 as well as May 4 and 5 (there will be two performances on May 5). Beginning on April 1, Bernard Labadie conducts the Orchestra for its spring concert free of charge in celebration of Easter. Then, both OSM Assistant Conductor Thomas Le Duc-Moreau and guest conductor Dalia Stasevska will be on the podium for concerts featuring guest soloists—OSM Competition winners—to transport listeners from North America to the Baltic region with works by Barber, Grant Still, Sibelius and Tchaikovsky. Finally, Canadian violinist James Ehnes and OSM Concertmaster Andrew Wan will swap playing and conducting the Orchestra’s string ensemble in a concert whose prevailing themes are spirituality and hope.

EASTER CONCERT: CONTEMPLATION AND DEVOTION WITH HAYDN

Free concert, webcast from April 1 to 6

Conducted by Bernard Labadie, the Orchestra will perform Josef Haydn’s The Seven Last Words of Our Saviour on the Cross. This profoundly emotional work evokes the light that shines beyond the darkness we collectively face today. This sacred and solemn work of orchestral music in seven movements, interspersed with passages recited from the Bible by outstanding Quebec actor Yves Jacques, is sure to deliver much-needed moments of comfort and contemplation.

BARBER AND GRANT STILL: AMERICAN SOUNDS

In-hall at the Maison symphonique on April 7 and 8 at 7 p.m. + via webcast from April 20 to May 4

Under the direction of OSM Assistant Conductor Thomas Le Duc-Moreau (photo), William Grant Still’s Symphony no. 2, “Song of a New Race” will fill the Maison symphonique with jazzy, hybrid and vibrant sounds inspired by African American tradition, symbolic of the American “New Man” of the 1930s. In the first part, audiences will heartwo exquisitely lyrical works by Samuel Barber: the Violin Concerto performed by young virtuoso and 2013 OSM Competition winner Kerson Leong, and the composer’s best-known work, the Adagio for Strings.

NORTHERN LIGHTS: DALIA STASEVSKA CONDUCTS TCHAIKOVSKY AND SIBELIUS

Webcast from April 27 to May 11

Finnish-Ukrainian conductor Dalia Stasevska (photo) leads the OSM in works that reflect the retrospective visions of two major composers. Tchaikovsky paid tribute to Mozart in his graceful, delicate Variations on a Rococo Theme, in which we will hear cello soloist Bryan Cheng, winner of the 2019 OSM Competition. Sibelius broke with Romanticism in his luminous Symphony no. 3, whose formal balance reminiscent of Classical style is tinged with characteristic Nordic serenity. The ethereal Paradisfåglar (Birds of Paradise) by Swedish composer Andrea Tarrodi completes this program.

THE OSM AND JAMES EHNES: FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT

In-hall at the Maison symphonique on May 4 and 5 at 7 p.m. and on May 5 at 10 :30 a.m. + via webcast from May 25 to June 8

Whether sprightly or spiritual, the OSM strings summon a captivating journey! Canadian violinist James Ehnes(photo) and OSM Concertmaster Andrew Wan alternately play and conduct the ensemble in a program that features Shostakovich’s Chamber Symphony, a work of tragic depth echoing the many conflicts of the 20th century. Bach’s elegant, robust Violin Concerto BWV 1052R rekindles the flames of hope, while Vaughan Williams transforms them into pure light with overflowingly rich harmonies in his Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis.