Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra

The Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra (French: Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, OPMC) is the main orchestra in the Principality of Monaco. The orchestra gives concerts primarily in the Auditorium Rainier III, but also performs at the Salle des Princes in the Grimaldi Forum.

History

The orchestra was founded in 1856 and gave its first concert on 14 December 1856, with an ensemble of 15 musicians, at the "Maison de jeux" (the future casino), under the direction of Alexandre Hermann. By 1874, the orchestra had increased in size to 70 musicians, in particular during the leadership of Eusèbe Lucas. In 1953, Prince Rainier III had ordered the renaming of the ensemble to Orchestre National de l'Opéra de Monte-Carlo. The orchestra acquired its current name in 1980, again through Rainier III.

Past principal conductors of the orchestra have included Paul Paray, Louis Frémaux, Igor Markevitch, Lovro von Matačić, Lawrence Foster, Gianluigi Gelmetti, James DePreist, Marek Janowski, and Yakov Kreizberg. Kreizberg had originally been signed to a contract of five years,[1] but his tenure was truncated by his death in March 2011. In March 2012, the OPMC and its president, Princess Caroline of Monaco, announced the return of Gelmetti to the orchestra as chef référent[2] to provide interim artistic leadership for the orchestra.[3] In January 2013, the OPMC formalised the full re-appointment of Gelmetti as its artistic director and music director. Gelmetti concluded his second OPMC tenure after the 2015–2016 season and subsequently took the title of honorary conductor.[4][5]

Kazuki Yamada first guest-conducted the OPMC in 2011. In the fall of 2013, he became the OPMC's principal guest conductor. In April 2015, the OPMC announced the appointment of Yamada as its next principal conductor and artistic director, effective September 2016, with an initial contract of three years.[4][5] In September 2020, the OPMC announced the most recent contract extension for Yamada, through the 2023–2024 season.[6]

Principal Conductors

Selected discography

References
  1. Kevin Shihoten (23 October 2007). "Monte Carlo Philharmonic Names New Director". Playbill Arts. Retrieved 2007-10-25.
  2. This term can be loosely translated as 'interim chief', although there appears to be no official English equivalent.
  3. Sarah Lloyd (2012-03-04). "Gianluigi Gelmetti takes charge of Monte Carlo Orchestra". Monaco Times. Archived from the original on 2012-06-10. Retrieved 2013-01-30.
  4. "Communiqué: Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo" (PDF) (Press release). Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra. 3 April 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 2015-09-04.
  5. "Kazuki Yamada Announced New Principal Conductor and Artistic Director in Monte Carlo" (Press release). Konzertdirektion Schmid. 3 April 2015. Archived from the original on 12 June 2015. Retrieved 2015-09-04.
  6. "Il maestro Kazuki Yamada guiderà per altri 3 anni l'Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo". Monte Carlo News. 2020-09-22. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
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