Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts Orchestre Métropolitain and Nicholas Angelich Friday, October 5, 2018 at 8:00pm Pre-concert Talk at 7:00pm This is the 865th concert in Koerner Hall Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Nicholas Angelich, piano Orchestre Métropolitain PROGRAM Nicolas Gilbert: Avril (Ontario premiere) Sergei Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Minor, op. 40 I. Allegro vivace II. Largo III. Allegro vivace INTERMISSION Jean Sibelius: Symphony No. 1 in E Minor, op. 39 I. Andante, ma non troppo - Allegro energico II. Andante, ma non troppo lento III. Scherzo: Allegro IV. Finale (quasi una fantasia): Andante - Allegro molto Orchestre Métropolitain First violin Yukari Cousineau, concertmaster Marcelle Mallette, associate concertmaster Johanne Morin, assistant concertmaster Alain Giguère Monica Duschênes Caroline Klause Alexander Lozowski Florence Mallette Linda Poirier Ryan Truby Arianne Bresse Chloé Chabanole Caroline Chéhadé Helga Dathe Second violin Nancy Ricard, principal Lyne Allard, associate principal Dominic Guilbault, assistant principal Lucie Ménard, second assistant principal Lizann Gervais Sylvie Harvey Monique Lagacé Claudio Ricignuolo Céline Arcand Jacob Niederhoffer Jean-Aï Seow Flaviu Zanca Viola Brian Bacon, principal Elvira Misbakhova, associate principal Pierre Tourville, assistant principal Gérald Daigle Julie Dupras Pierre Lupien Valérie Arsenault Xavier Lepage-Brault Marie-Ève Lessard Jean MaCrae Cello Christopher Best, principal Caroline Milot, associate principal Thérèse Ryan, assistant principal Louise Trudel Vincent Bergeron Christine Giguère Sheila Hannigan Véronica Ronkos Bass René Gosselin, principal Marc Denis, associate principal Gilbert Fleury Réal Montminy Catherine Lefèbvre Pierre-Alexandre Maranda Flute Marie-Andrée Benny, principal Jocelyne Roy Piccolo Caroline Séguin, principal Oboe Lise Beauchamp, principal Marjorie Tremblay English horn Mélanie Harel, principal Clarinet Simon Aldrich, principal François Martel Bassoon Michel Bettez, principal Gabrièle Dostie-Poirier Horn Louis-Philippe Marsolais, principal Simon Bourget Pierre Savoie Jean Paquin Alice Lane-Lépine, assistant principal Trumpet Benjamin Raymond, principal Lise Bouchard Benjamin Raymond Trombone Patrice Richer, principal Michael Wilson Bass trombone Trevor Dix, principal Tuba Daniel Hill, principal Timpani Julien Bélanger, principal Percussion Vincent Séguin, principal Olivier Maranda Catherine Meunier Corinne René Harp Danièle Habel, principal Nicolas Gilbert Born 1979 in Montreal, Quebec Avril (2018) A student of Michel Gonneville, Serge Prévost, and John Rea among others, Nicolas Gilbert is undoubtedly one of the most gifted Quebec composers of his generation. His catalogue currently runs to more than 60 works, some of which have earned prestigious international awards. At home, honours have included the Opus award for composer of the year in the 2007-08 season. Nicolas Gilbert is also the author of four novels, musical in form and sometimes in storyline: Le récital (2008), Le joueur de triangle (2009), La fille de l’imprimeur est triste (2011), and Nous (2013), all published by Leméac (Montreal). His latest work was commissioned by the Orchestre Métropolitain and premieres on October 4, 2018 with Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducting. Nicolas Gilbert explains: “Playing with the melodic line is the heart of this score. The line guides the listening experience and gives the music an extremely discursive character. I was seeking to compose music that speaks and creates images. In that way, Avril can be considered a symphonic poem. The melody blooms over the course of the work, coils around itself, produces offshoots, branches out. Avril is ultimately the tale of this blossoming. The work is in three sections that are played without interruption. The first is a big V, a falling line followed by a rising line. The second is a three-part counterpoint that continuously becomes denser, intensifies and speeds up. The third is loop with ever-changing colours.” Sergei Rachmaninov Born in Semyonovo, Russia, March 20/April 1, 1873; died in Beverly Hills, California, March 28, 1943 Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Minor, op. 40 (1926) Rachmaninov finished composing his fourth concerto in the United States in 1926, revising it the following year and again in 1941. Dedicated to Nikolai Medtner, Piano Concerto No. 4 is marked by a surprising modernity, especially compared with the two preceding concertos. Here there are fewer outpourings: short themes take the place of long romantic phrases. That said, the composer’s style, including its playfulness and virtuosity, is still to be found. Long overshadowed by the second and third concertos, Concerto No. 4 is gaining in popularity. Jean Sibelius Born in Hämeenlinna, Finland, December 8, 1865; died in Järvenpää, Finland, September 20, 1957 Symphony No. 1 in E Minor, op. 39 (1907) Jean Sibelius stands apart from the other great symphonists. The extreme originality of his orchestration and the visionary power of his musical discourse take the listener to seldom explored places inhabited by sonorities as dark as they are poetic. Sibelius today remains the most famous raconteur of his country and its legends and is undoubtedly, alongside Grieg, the best-known Nordic composer. Sibelius wrote the first of his seven symphonies in 1898. The young composer already speaks in the unique voice he will develop in his later scores. Among the attributes worthy of the best Sibelius are the airy orchestration, the remarkable treatment of the lower registers, the long crescendos carefully crafted to build the utmost tension, and the superb wind solos, in particular for the clarinet and bassoon. It is an intense, vibrant and well-structured score. - Program notes by Claudio Ricignuolo; English translation is by Craig Schweickert Yannick Nézet-Séguin Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Orchestre Métropolitain since 2000, Yannick Nézet-Séguin is one of the most sought-after conductors in the world. His career has led him to work with many leading orchestras: he has been Music Director of the Philadelphia Orchestra since September 2012 and of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, with which 2017-18 was his tenth and final season; and he also succeeds James Levine as the third Music Director of the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Maestro Nézet-Séguin is regularly invited to lead prestigious orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, Bayerischer Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester, and Chamber Orchestra of Europe. His opera interpretations have been acclaimed in many of the world’s most famous houses, such as the Metropolitan Opera, the Salzburg Festival, La Scala, and the Royal Opera House, as well as in such renowned concert halls as the Musikverein, the Concertgebouw, and Carnegie Hall. Yannick Nézet-Séguin has made recordings with several orchestras for the Deutsche Grammophon label while continuing his role in the collaborative partnership between ATMA Classique and the Orchestre Métropolitain. His honours include Artist of the Year by Musical America, a Royal Philharmonic Society Award, the National Arts Centre Award, the Prix Denise-Pelletier, awarded by the Quebec government, the Medal of Honour of the National Assembly of Quebec, and, recently, the Oskar Morawetz Award. He has received five honorary doctorates from Université du Québec à Montréal, Curtis Institute of Music, Rider University, McGill University, and Université de Montréal, and has been made a Companion of the Order of Canada, Companion of the Quebec Order for the Arts and Literature, Officer of the National Order of Quebec, and Officer of the Ordre de Montréal. Nicholas Angelich Piano Nicholas Angelich began studying the piano at five with his mother and, at the age of seven, he gave his first concert with Mozart’s Concerto K. 467. He subsequently entered the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris and won the First Prize for piano and chamber music. In 1989, he won the Second Prize of the International Piano Competition R. Casadesus in Cleveland and, in 1994, the First Prize of the International Piano Competition Gina Bachauer. In 1996, he was invited as a resident of the International Piano Foundation of Cadennabia (Italy). In 2002, he received the International Klavierfestival Ruhr – Young Talent Award (Germany) from Leon Fleischer. At the Victoires de la Musique Classique 2013, he received the Victoire of the Instrumental Soloist of the Year. In May 2003, he made his debut with the New York Philharmonic under Kurt Masur and Valdimir Jurowski invited him to open the 2007-08 season of the Russian National Orchestra in Moscow. During the 2018-19 season, Mr. Angelich performs with the Orchestre Métropolitain de Montreal, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Chicago Symphony, Insula Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, and the National Symphony Orchestra. He also appears in solo recitals in Liège, Alicante, and Paris, among many others. Highlights of the previous seasons include performing with the Orchestre National de Lyon, Rotterdam Philharmonic, KBS Symphony Orchestra, Insula Orchestra, and with the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Bravo Vail Festival. During the 2017-18 season, Angelich performed solo recitals in Lyon, Paris, Alicante, and St. Denis. Orchestre Métropolitain One of Quebec’s leading cultural ambassadors, the Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal was founded in 1981 on a daring gamble: that the best way to promote symphonic