Charles Dutoit
Charles Édouard Dutoit ( born October 7, 1936 in Lausanne ) is a Swiss conductor residing in Canada.
Biography
Charles Dutoit received a comprehensive musical training in violin, viola, piano, percussion, composition, orchestration, theory and conducting at the conservatories of Lausanne and Geneva. Afterwards he completed his training in Siena at Alceo Galliera and at Tanglewood (Massachusetts ) at Charles Münch.
From 1953 he directed various choirs and amateur orchestras. Then Herbert von Karajan invited him to Vienna to conduct at the Vienna State Opera, the premiere of Manuel de Falla's ballet El sombrero de tres picos, which moved him into the international spotlight. In 1964 he was appointed Vice and 1967 chief conductor of the Bern Symphony Orchestra, which he led until 1973. From 1967 to 1970 he was conductor of the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich ( besides Rudolf Kempe ). From 1973 to 1975 he headed the National Orchestra of Mexico and from 1975 to 1978 that of Gothenburg.
1977 Dutoit was appointed music director of the Symphony Orchestra of Montreal, a position he held until 2002. Under his leadership, the orchestra was the opinion of the critics as one of the world's finest ensembles. With him Dutoit undertook numerous tours abroad and made recordings, many of which have won international awards. 1983-1986 Charles Dutoit was principal guest conductor of the Minnesota Orchestra. In 1984 he made his debut at Covent Garden in London and in 1987 at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. In 1990 he was appointed Chief Conductor of the Orchestre de Paris, and from 1991 to 2001 he was music director of the Orchestre National de France. He was appointed Principal Conductor and Music Director of the 1998 Tokyo NHK Symphony Orchestra in 1996, with whom he toured Europe, the United States, China and Southeast Asia. In addition, he has conducted more than 150 orchestras in America and Europe.
2003 Dutoit has begun to conduct a cycle of Wagner operas at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires ( The Flying Dutchman, The Ring of the Nibelung ). In 2005 he returned to the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, where he led the Philadelphia Orchestra, which he presides as chief conductor since 2008. In September 2009 he became the successor Daniele Gatti as Principal Conductor and Artistic Director and Head of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London.
Since Charles Dutoit a special interest shows for Cooperation with orchestras of music students, he has frequently collaborated with the Orchestra of the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, the Juilliard Orchestra in New York, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and the UBS Verbier Festival Orchestra in Switzerland. For three years he was the Director of the Sapporo Pacific Music Festival in Japan. Currently Dutoit also acts as artistic director and conductor of the Miyazaki International Music Festival in Japan and at the Canton International Summer Music Academy ( CISMA ) in China.
Furthermore Dutoit realized for NHK Television in Japan ten documentaries for a series entitled Cities of Music, which portrays ten music centers of the world.
Dutoit are particularly French music and the classics of the 20th century at heart. He has always tried to bring back a general public by changing subscriptions and new programs in the concert halls. So he let play Stravinsky's The Soldier's Tale in parks and squares of Montreal, was Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in a hockey hall and initiated in the Notre- Dame de Montreal, a festival that plus became a household name under the name of Mozart.
1987 Charles Dutoit was elected to Canada for Artist of the Year and honored with honorary doctorates from the Universities of Montreal and Laval. Charles Dutoit made about 85 recordings by and has won over 40 international awards. In 1991 he was made an honorary citizen of Philadelphia.
Between 1969 and 1973 he was married to the pianist Martha Argerich.