The Orchester Classique de Montréal will present Thursday, with Karina Gauvin and under the direction of Matthias Maute, a Händel program transformed into a major concert in memory of its conductor Boris Brott, who died accidentally on April 5.
“Let me cry. It’s on these lyrics to the tune Lascia ch’io piangaopera Rinaldo, which will open the tribute concert to Boris Brott given by the Orchester Classique de Montréal (OCM), his beloved orchestra. “The only thing we changed was the order of the program. It’s the perfect tune to pay homage to Boris at the start of the concert”, says the To have to Taras Kulish, CEO of OCM.
“We decided that the program as constructed represented Boris well, because he was a great fan of Händel’s music. We wanted to present this concert with the Ensemble Caprice. Chef Matthias Maute and Boris Brott, who had worked together in the past, had a very good relationship,” says Taras Kulish. Matthias Maute was to conduct part of the concert. He will do it all.
The same scheme was chosen for the penultimate concert of the season, Great Quebecoises, next May 17: “Geneviève Leclair, a protégé of Boris, was going to conduct a work during this concert. We gave him the whole gig,” says Kulish. As for the grand closing concert of the season at the Maison symphonique, with the choral fantasy and the “Heroic” Symphony of Beethoven, on May 27, it was entrusted by Taras Kulish to Jacques Lacombe.
A mid-June succession
During Thursday’s concert, Karina Gauvin will also sing tunes from Giulio Cesare, L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato and Samsonwhile Matthias Maute will lead the Suites II and III of Water Music.
“There are other important works on the program that make up a fine tribute to Boris, underlines Taras Kulish. L’Arabesque by his father, Alexander Brott, and a creation by Jaap Nico Hamburger, Boris being a great lover of creations and loving to give new composers a chance. »
A guaranteed musical future
The future of the CMO is already mapped out. There will be no artistic procrastination: no question of spending two or three seasons looking for a successor.
“It would give the impression that we are floating and that the musical and artistic future of the OCM is not assured. Ironically, we had just finished a succession plan discussion with Boris two weeks before his death. It’s strange, but it gave us the opportunity to talk about the future of the orchestra in the long term,” reveals Mr. Kulish.
Ironically, we had just finished a succession plan discussion with Boris two weeks before his death. It’s strange, but it gave us the opportunity to talk about the long-term future of the orchestra.
The director of the orchestra and the board of directors have sustained discussions: “We have a fairly strong plan that we will announce on June 14, at the same time as next season. »
A plan, that is to say a successor? “Yes, a director or a musical director, on June 14. »