Rafael Payare and Bruckner’s Fourth Symphony
Each of Barbara Hannigan’s performances is a moment of staggering intensity, heightened by this soprano’s charisma and deep sensitivity. A specialist of the contemporary repertoire, she will introduce us to In the half-light by Canadian composer Zosha Di Castri, a work she premiered in 2022. Rafael Payare will also conduct Bruckner’s luminous “Romantic” Symphony, whose impassioned surges reach their apex in a sublime coda.
Each of Barbara Hannigan’s performances is a moment of staggering intensity, heightened by this soprano’s charisma and deep sensitivity. A specialist of the contemporary repertoire, she will introduce us to In the half-light by Canadian composer Zosha Di Castri, a work she premiered in 2022. Rafael Payare will also conduct Bruckner’s luminous “Romantic” Symphony, whose impassioned surges reach their apex in a sublime coda.
Artists
Orchestre symphonique de Montréal
Rafael Payare, conductor
Barbara Hannigan, soprano
Programme
Zosha Di Castri, In the half-light (text by Tash Aw, 28 min.)
Intermission
Bruckner, Symphony no. 4 in E-flat major, WAB 104, “Romantic” (70 min.)
Rafael Payare
Music DirectorRafael Payare’s prodigious musicianship, technical brilliance and charismatic presence on the podium have made him one of the world’s most sought-after conductors. A graduate of the celebrated El Sistema music education program in Venezuela, Mr. Payare began his formal conducting studies in 2004 with José Antonio Abreu. Since winning the prestigious Malko International Competition for Young Conductors in Denmark in 2012, Maestro Payare’s career has advanced rapidly. Since 2015, he has served as Principal Conductor of the Castleton Festival, founded by his mentor the late Lorin Maazel. He was Chief Conductor and Music Director of the Ulster Orchestra from 2014 to 2019 and in 2019, took up the position of Music Director of the San Diego Symphony. In recent years, Rafael Payare has conducted many of the world’s most prestigious orchestras, including those of New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Zurich, Berlin, Vienna, London, Munich, Chicago and Paris. He has also made important opera debuts at the Glyndebourne Festival, Stockholm’s Royal Swedish Opera, the Royal Danish Opera, and most recently at London’s Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. In the 2022-2023 season, Payare became the ninth Music Director in the history of the OSM.
To consult:
rafaelpayare.com
Long biography
Barbara Hannigan
Soprano and conductorEmbodying music with an unparalleled dramatic sensibility, Canadian soprano and conductor Barbara Hannigan is an artist at the forefront of creation. She has worked closely with the most celebrated conductors and musicians of the age, showing a profound commitment to the music of our time and giving premiere performances of over 85 new creations. She has collaborated with Boulez, Zorn, Dutilleux, Ligeti, Stockhausen, Sciarrino, Barry, Dusapin, Dean, Benjamin and Abrahamsen among others.
Recently, Barbara premiered a new live video production of La voix humaine in which she both sings and conducts, She celebrated her 50th birthday at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, conducting the Ludwig Orchestra in works of Haydn, Copland, Gerald Barry, and Kurt Weill. Future projects comprise repertoire ranging from the Middle Ages to today. A multi award recipient and recording artist, she is firmly engaged in mentoring younger professional musicians with her Equilibrium Young Artists and Momentum: our Future Now initiatives.