Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra
Called the "Orchestre du Nouveau Cercle des Etrangers" (1856), the "Orchestre National de l'Opéra de Monte-Carlo" (1958), and finally the "Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo", since 1980, the OPMC has occupied a choice position in the world of international music. Thanks to its ability to marry tradition and modernity, it plays a top role in the interpretation of symphonic works of great repertoire, the renewal of rare and contemporary works and the lyrical and choreographic creation. Since the end of the 19th century, there have been countless "World Premieres" in Monte-Carlo, and devoted to the great composers such as Massenet, Puccini, Ravel, Mascagni, Fauré, Franck, Honegger, Ibert, Lalo, Milhaud, Poulenc, Satie, R. Rossellini, R. Liebermann, Ch. Chaynes, M. Constant, S. Rendine, R. Koering and S. Sciarrino. Contemporary music has always been present in the OPMC seasons, with, in particular, Henze, Dutilleux, Paart, Lutoslawski, Penderecki, Ligeti, Takemitsu and many others. Under different titles - Permanent conductor, tenured conductor, First invited conductor, Musical director, Artistic and musical director - the following have directed from 1856 to the current day: Alexandre Hermann, Eusèbe Lucas, Léon Jehin, Louis Ganne, Marc César Scotto, Victor de Sabata, Paul Paray, Henri Tomasi, Louis Frémaux, Edouard van Remoortel, Igor Markevitch, Lovro von Matacic, Lawrence Foster, Gianluigi Gelmetti, James DePreist, Marek Janowski and Yakov Kreizberg. Since the death of Kreizberg, the post has remained vacant, HRH the Princess of Hanover had wanted to invite Gianluigi Gelmetti to take on the task of the "referent conductor" of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo. After ten months of perfect collaboration, punctuated by great moments of emotion, it was decided to grant the job of Artistic and Musical Director of the Orchestra to Gianluigi Gelmetti.
Extraordinary events have marked the history of the OPMC, such as all of the Bartok concertos, by Zoltan Kocsis, Berlioz's "Requiem" at Berlin Cathedral, Schoenberg's Gurrelieder at the Grimaldi Forum then the Berlin Philharmonic, with the Rundfunk Sinfonie Orchester Berlin, the Rundfunkchor Berlin, the Mitteldeutscher Rundfunkchor Leipzig, under the direction of Marek Janowski, the cycle Bruckner's symphonies.
The orchestra is regularly invited by big festivals and significant tours abroad. It has done numerous recordings for the big French and foreign labels, hailed by the critics, French and international academies, and crowned with several Grand Prix. Autumn 2010 saw the launch of the "OPMC Classics" label for the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo with five discs, under the direction of Yakov Kreizberg, rewarded by the musical press. With the collaboration of Printemps des Arts, works by Gilbert Amy, Philipp Maintz and Philippe Hurel were able to be recorded.
Under the presidency of HRH the Princess of Hanover, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo benefits from support from HRH Prince Albert II, support from the Government of the Principality, from the Société des Bains de Mer, the Compagnie Monégasque de Banque (CMB) and the Association des Amis de l’Orchestre.
January 2014