The OM at the foot of Mount Royal | Orchestre Metropolitain

Symphonic personalities

Program

Airat Ichmouratov

Ouverture “Ville cosmopolite” (excerpt)

Duration: approx. 6 minutes
Louise Farrenc

Symphony No. 3

III. Scherzo : Vivace
IV. Finale : Allegro

Duration: approx. 14 minutes
Barbara Assiginaak

Eko-Bmijwang (As long in time as the river flows)

Duration: approx. 6 minutes
Beethoven

Symphony No. 5

I. Allegro con brio
II. Andante con moto
III. Allegro
IV. Allegro

Duration: approx. 31 minutes

Media

The concert at the foot of Mount Royal, one of the OM’s most eagerly awaited summer happenings, is finally back! The event, inaugurated in 2019 at the foot of Mount Royal Park (on Côte Placide, along avenue du Parc between avenue Mont-Royal and avenue des Pins), fulfills the long-held desire of the Orchestra and its conductor, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, to reach out to as many Montrealers as possible by offering a free symphony concert in a unifying place that so beautifully represents our metropolis! This year’s program, as diverse as it is captivating, reflects Montreal, the cosmopolitan city where richness and diversity of cultures intersect.

OM Prelude: Starting at 6:30 p.m., the Brazilian percussion group 3Doums, composed of students from Louis-Riel High School, will perform their compositions.

The concert will take place rain or shine and will only be cancelled in case of an electrical storm. In this situation, we will keep you informed on our Facebook page and our website.

Information has been circulating online and on social media, mentioning that there would be a broadcast of the August 2 concert at the foot of Mount Royal on the Facebook page of the OM. This information is unfortunately wrong. We are sorry for this situation, thank you for your understanding.

Works

Airat Ichmouratov

1973 –

Ouverture “Ville cosmopolite” (excerpt)

Premiered in Verdun on January 25, 2012, by the Orchestre Métropolitain conducted by Airat Ichmouratov

Airat Ichmouratov was born in Kazan, the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The beautiful university city has a rich history, is a major centre of Tatar culture and can claim Feodor Chaliapin, Gala Dalí and cellist Natalia Gutman among its progeny. Ichmouratov studied clarinet in Kazan before becoming associate clarinetist of the Tatarstan Opera Orchestra.

On arriving in Quebec in 1998, Ichmouratov joined the renowned klezmer ensemble Kleztory, where his dazzling virtuosity continues to astound. He also maintains a very active career as a conductor and composer.

The Overture Ville Cosmopolite is a celebration of the cosmopolitan character of Montreal. The composer explains that the fanfare unfurled at the opening is the metropolis itself. The following theme, played on the cor anglais, evokes the arrival of the vessels from France 400 years ago. Then, five sections represent some of the cultures to which today’s Montrealers belong: we hear, in order, fragments of Armenian, Russian, Jewish and French-Canadian music before ending with a traditional Tatar melody that recalls the composer’s native culture. A final fanfare and joyful coda bring this captivating score to a close.

Louise Farrenc

1804 – 1875

Symphony No. 3

Premiered in Paris on April 22, 1849, conducted by Narcisse Girard

Louise Farrenc is one of the rare female composers of her era to have been recognized and celebrated in her lifetime. Born Jeanne-Louise Farrenc, she was the daughter of French sculptor Jacques-Edme Dumont (1761-1844), the fourth in a long line of renowned sculptors founded by her ancestor François Dumont (1660-1737). Louise’s brother Auguste also became a sculptor; his works include the Génie de la Liberté atop the July Column in the centre of the Place de la Bastille in Paris.

Louise was strongly encouraged by her family to develop her musical talent. She began piano studies with Anne-Élisabeth-Cécile Soria, a pupil of Clementi, before studying with Moscheles, Hummel and Reicha. She was 18 when she married Aristide Farrenc a flautist, composer and, more importantly, music publisher. He did everything in his power to further his wife’s career, notably by becoming her impresario and publisher.

Louise Farrenc mainly composed piano music, chamber music and orchestral works, including three symphonies. Appointed professor of piano at the Paris Conservatory, it was only after nine years of repeated demands that she was paid a salary equal to that of her male counterparts.

Her Symphony No. 3 draws on the heritage of Beethoven, Schubert and Mendelssohn. Here is an excerpt from a contemporary review by Théophile Gauthier: “…the evening’s top honours went to the Symphony in G minor by Madame Farrenc, a remarkable work in which the composer lifts herself to the level of the greatest masters.”

Barbara Assiginaak

1966 –

Eko-Bmijwang (As long in time as the river flows)

Premiered in Joliette on August 8, 2021, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin

Born on Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron, half of whose population is indigenous, Barbara Assiginaak developed a passion for music at an early age. At the time, she was already fascinated by the pipigwan, the traditional flute of the Odawa First Nation. Her musical education has taken her to the Hochschule für Musik in Munich, the prestigious Centre Acanthes training academy for young composers in France and the University of Toronto. Her teachers have included Dr. Samuel Dolin, Helmut Lachenmann and Sir Peter Maxwell Davies.

She has been active internationally since 1995. Among other accomplishments, she was composer-in-residence at the Toronto Symphony Orchestra from 1998 to 2000. An educator and committed environmentalist, she has played an active role in Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Barbara Assiginaak often draws inspiration from traditional Native American music as well as from nature—from its rhythms and soundscapes of murmuring water, wind and birdsong.

“I imagined this short work as a journey through a dream-memory experience of time, beginning with a canoe entering the calm waters in the midst of thick fog just under the light of Nokomis (Grandmother Moon). Soon, with the coming dawn, the mists rise and the waters dance under the light of Giizis (Grandfather Sun) and enliven those many creatures that dwell within and around. As the waters of this great river change their flow, their speed and sometimes the direction of their current, the traveller is reminded that all humans—the last to arrive after all other beings—are not there to dominate and control the spirit and life of nibi (water).” – Barbara Assiginaak

Beethoven

1770 – 1827

Symphony No. 5

Premiered in Vienna on December 22, 1808, conducted by Beethoven

In 1806, Beethoven began working seriously on two major symphonies he would develop and complete concurrently. However different, they can be seen as bearing complementary messages, as two parts of a unique, overarching work. One shows us man confronting fate. In the other, the Pastoral, man is humble and filled with awe at nature. Both works were premiered in 1808 at the same concert in Vienna. The concert program assigned the number five to the Pastoral, while the “fate” symphony was number six. It was only on publication in 1809 that the two symphonies received their definitive numbers.

Symphony No. 5 is certainly Beethoven’s most celebrated. Who doesn’t know at least the beginning with its so-called “fate” motif (G-G-G-E flat)? Those four fateful notes were used as the signature theme for radio broadcasts in France during the German occupation. For the Allies, Roman numeral five brought V for victory to mind. In addition, in Morse code, the letter v is represented by three dots followed by a dash, the same rhythm as the famous four notes! No wonder, then, that Beethoven’s fifth became the symbol of the Resistance. Indeed, this poignant work plunges us directly into the desperate struggle between man and a terrible, pitiless fate.

After a pitched battle, man is struck down with relentless determination by fate (first movement). He then regains his strength (second movement) and returns to the fray (third movement), which ends in a blaze of glory with man’s definitive victory over fate (fourth movement; note that the last two movements are played without a break), just as the free world would triumph over the Nazi threat.

This work is the shortest of the “great” symphonies: great by nature, not length.

Conductor & Soloists

Yannick Nézet-Séguin

Conductor

The Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Orchestre Métropolitain since 2000, Yannick Nézet-Séguin signed a “lifelong” commitment with the Orchestre in September 2019. In September 2018, he became the third Music Director of the Metropolitan Opera (MET), New York in addition to his ongoing duties as Music Director of the Philadelphia Orchestra, where he has served since 2012. In 2016-2017, he became a lifetime Honorary Member of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.

After a ten-year tenure with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, he was appointed Honorary Conductor in 2019, a position he holds to this day.

He has worked regularly with many leading European ensembles and enjoyed many close collaborations with the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Wiener Philharmoniker, Sinfonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunk and Chamber Orchestra of Europe as well as the London Philharmonic Orchestra, of which he was Principal Guest Conductor from 2008 to 2014. His opera interpretations have been acclaimed in many of the world’s most famous houses, including the Metropolitan Opera (New York), La Scala (Milan), and the Royal Opera House (London), in the Salzburg Festival, as well as in such renowned concert halls as the Musikverein (Vienna), the Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Festspielhaus (Baden-Baden) and Carnegie Hall (New York).

Yannick Nézet-Séguin records exclusively for Deutsche Grammophon label while continuing his role in the collaborative partnership between ATMA Classique and the OM. His honours include being named Artist of the Year by the prestigious magazine Musical America and receiving the Virginia Parker Award, a Royal Philharmonic Society Award (London), Canada’s National Arts Centre Award (Ottawa), the Prix Denise-Pelletier, awarded by the Quebec government, the Medal of Honor of the National Assembly of Quebec, the Oskar Morawetz Award and Orchestras Canada’s Betty Webster Award, the Rubies Award by Opera Canada; in 2022, he receives the Grammy Award of the Best Orchestral Performance for Florence Price’s Symphony No.3 with the Philadelphia Orchestra.

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