The gracefulness and melodic suppleness of Tchaikovsky’s celebrated Violin Concerto stand in stark contrast to the dramatic intensity of Shostakovich’s Symphony no. 11. With Shostakovich, music became a living testimony of human history, and in this arresting, powerfully disconcerting work, the composer is the eulogist of the oppressed, denouncing political repression in all its forms. This concert will mark the OSM debut of brilliant young violinist Sergey Khachatryan.
Artists
Orchestre symphonique de Montréal
Rafael Payare, conductor
Sergey Khachatryan, violin
Students taking part in the Orchestral Immersion 2025 programme*
Alexis Bernier, flute *
Gabriel Chartrand, clarinet *
William Deslauriers-Allain, double bass *
Nicolas Gagnon, trumpet *
Emma Guerreiro, violin ***
Chelsea Jaramillo, percussion *
Olena Kaspersky, violin **
Rina Kitagawa, viola ***
Noah Larocque, horn ***
Eric Li, bassoon **
Sacha Payette, oboe *
Charlotte Van Barr, violin **
Jianna (Jianyue) Zhang, violin *
* Conservatoire de musique de Montréal
** École de musique Schulich de l’Université McGill
*** Faculté de musique de l’Université de Montréal
Works
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Violin Concerto in D major, op. 35 (33 min.)
Intermission
Dmitri Shostakovich, Symphony no. 11 in G minor, op. 103, ‘‘The Year 1905’’ (55 min.)*
*With the participation of interpretation students from higher education institutions

Rafael Payare
Music and Artistic Director of the OSMWith his innate musicianship, gift for communication, and irresistibly joyous spirit, conductor Rafael Payare is Music and Artistic Director of both Canada’s Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (OSM) and California’s San Diego Symphony (SDSO), as well as Principal Conductor of Virginia’s Castleton Festival and Conductor Laureate of Northern Ireland’s Ulster Orchestra. Payare is celebrated for his expertise in late Romantic repertoire while also cultivating the next generation of composers with regular commissions and performances of new works. A veteran of Venezuela’s El Sistema program – in which he began playing horn at the age of 14 – and 2012 first prize winner at Denmark’s Malko Competition for Young Conductors, Payare remains dedicated to inspiring younger musicians, regularly working with youth orchestras and establishing mentorship programs like El Sistema OSM and the SDSO Conducting Fellowship. Payare resides in San Diego and Montreal with his wife, acclaimed cellist Alisa Weilerstein, and their two young children.

Sergey Khachatryan
ViolinBorn in Yerevan, Armenia, Sergey Khachatryan won First Prize at the eighth International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition in Helsinki in 2000, becoming the youngest winner in the history of the competition. In 2005, he claimed First Prize at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels. His recent appearances include performances with the Dresdner Philharmonie, Korean National Symphony Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra, Orchestre national de Belgique, Queensland Symphony, Auckland Philharmonia, and Bochumer Symphoniker. He also embarked on an extended tour of Spain with the Basque National Orchestra as well as on a North American tour with the Armenian National Philharmonic, whose destinations included Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto, the Maison symphonique de Montréal, and Carnegie Hall in New York City. Sergey and his sister Lusine’s album My Armenia was released on the Naïve label and is dedicated to commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide. The album garnered the 2016 Echo Klassik Award in the category Chamber Music Recording.
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