Concerto for Two Pianos – May 23-24, 2023 LiveEvents May 16, 2023 1127 Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (OSM) presents Bartók’s Concerto for Two Pianos and Percussion The OSM is thrilled to welcome internationally renowned pianists Daniil Trifonov and Sergei Babayan in Bartók’s Concerto for Two Pianos and Percussion, whose performance showcases OSM percussionists Serge Desgagnés and Andrei Malashenko. Finnish conductor Hannu Lintu also presents Prokofiev’s celebrated suite from Romeo and Juliet, as well as Stravinsky’s Symphonies of Wind Instruments, written in homage to Claude Debussy. Artists Orchestre symphonique de Montréal Hannu Lintu, conductor Hannu Lintu continues his tenure as Chief Conductor of the Finnish National Opera and Ballet. The appointment follows a series of hugely successful collaborations with the company – including Tristan und Isolde in 2016, Sibelius’s Kullervo in 2017, Berg’s Wozzeck in 2019 and Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos in 2020 – and reflects Lintu’s shifting focus into the field of opera. In the past season he conducted Strauss’ Salome and Britten’s Billy Budd. Lintu recently completed his eighth and final season as the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra’s Chief Conductor. Guest highlights of the 2022/23 season include the highly anticipated debut with New York Philharmonic and Atlanta Symphony and returns to St Louis and BBC Symphony orchestras. Lintu also guest conducts the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Konzerthaus Berlin, Gulbenkian Orchestra, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne and Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal. Lintu studied cello and piano at the Sibelius Academy, where he later studied conducting with Jorma Panula. He participated in masterclasses with Myung-Whun Chung at the L’Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, Italy, and took first prize at the Nordic Conducting Competition in Bergen in 1994. Daniil Trifonov, piano Grammy Award-winning pianist Daniil Trifonov – Musical America’s 2019 Artist of the Year – has made a spectacular ascent of the classical music world, as a solo artist, champion of the concerto repertoire, chamber and vocal collaborator, and composer. Combining consummate technique with rare sensitivity and depth, his performances are a perpetual source of awe. “He has everything and more … tenderness and also the demonic element. I never heard anything like that,” marveled pianist Martha Argerich. With Transcendental, the Liszt collection that marked his third title as an exclusive Deutsche Grammophon artist, Trifonov won the Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Solo Album of 2018. As The Times of London notes, he is “without question the most astounding pianist of our age.” Sergei Babayan, piano The meditative focus and rare stillness of Armenian-American pianist Sergei Babayan’s keyboard artistry prompted the Hamburger Abendblatt to liken him to “one of those Japanese calligraphers who contemplate the white page before them in silence until, at the exact right moment, their brush makes its instinctive, perfect sweep across the paper”. Babayan himself has observed that making music should be open to surprises and spontaneous insights, allowing unexpected emotions to emerge and subtle shadings to evolve naturally. Serge Desgagnés, percussion Serge Desgagnés, principal percussionist of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, has been with the orchestra since 1997. Andrei Malashenko, percussion Andrei Malashenko has been the principal timpanist of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra since 1999. Program Stravinsky, Symphonies of Wind Instruments (12 min.) Bartók, Concerto for Two Pianos and Percussion, Sz. 115 (25 min.) Prokofiev, Romeo and Juliet, Suite (40 min.) Maison symphonique Tuesday, May 23, 2023 at 7:30pm Wednesday, May 24, 2023 at 7:30pm To purchase your tickets visit: www.placedesarts.com
