Highlights of a 25-year tenure:
1978-2002: Music Director
36 sold-out concerts at Carnegie Hall
37 international tours of North & South America, Europe and Asia
104 CDs + DVDs
Conducted 2,048 different scores of 545 composers (62 Canadians), the complete set of Symphonies by Beethoven, Brahms, Schumann, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Mahler, Tchaikowsky, Prokofiev, Rachmaninov, Roussel, Sibelius, Shostakovich, 180 works by Mozart, 42 Haydn Symphonies and all the symphonic music by Berlioz, Debussy, Ravel, Strauss and Stravinsky as well as multiple commissioned works
Charles Dutoit conducted his first concert with the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal (OSM) on February 17th, 1977, and was immediately appointed Music Director. After his debut concert in that position on September 19, 1978, he led the OSM in a series of concerts across Canada and embarked on their first international tour in 1981, with performances in Chicago and San Francisco.
The legendary Decca recordings started in July 1980. After some 40 locations were evaluated, the church of St-Eustache (40kms from Montreal) was finally chosen by the Decca engineers for its ideal acoustics.
The original project was to produce 3 recordings in the first year: the Complete Ballet of Ravel’s “Daphnis & Chloé” plus the others with established Decca artists Kyung-Wha Chung and Carlos Bonell. The quality of the performance of Daphnis & Chloé, added to the prowess of Decca’s technical achievement, were immediately crowned by several international prizes and became a worldwide demonstration for this very new, still little known, compact disc digital technology.
Edward Greenfield, in the June 1981 issue of Gramophone Magazine, wrote: “Never have I heard Ravel’s score sounding quite so ravishing as on this new digital issue….On this showing it is by far the finest French orchestra today, whatever they think in Paris.”
This was the beginning of an extraordinary association with London Decca. “Dutoit – Montréal”, recognized the world over, became a landmark in the history of recordings.
Charles Dutoit and the OSM went on to record more than 100 compact discs for Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, EMI, Philips and CBC Records, collaborating with such artists as Martha Argerich, Jorge Bolet, Alicia de Larrocha, Pascal Rogé, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Joshua Bell, Kyung-Wha Chung, Leila Josefowicz, Pinchas Zukerman, Yo-Yo Ma, Cecilia Bartoli, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Jessye Norman, Kiri Te Kanawa and Leontyne Price. That quasi mythical “Montreal sound” became an emblem in the classical music world. During that period, Charles Dutoit declared boldly that he was going to put his orchestra on the world map.
After their first concert in London, the same British critic, Edward Greenfield, added in The Guardian, April 16, 1984: “As the one who first dubbed this band (OSM) on their first record with Charles Dutoit the finest French orchestra in the world today…I feel like upping the estimate and proclaiming them not just the finest French orchestra of all time but the most beautiful orchestra from North America.” This was part of 37 highly regarded international tours throughout North America, South America, Europe and Asia.
On May 9, 1982, Charles Dutoit and the OSM played their first concert at Carnegie Hall. The resounding success of the sold-out performance paved the way for 36 appearances over the next 20 years and opened the doors to prestigious invitations including residencies at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, concerts at the Tanglewood and Chicago’s Ravinia Festivals, the Kennedy Center in Washington and the Lincoln Center in New York. They also appeared in front of the General Assembly of the United Nations with Yo-Yo Ma as soloist.
In Montreal, with the invaluable help of Mayor Jean Drapeau, a lineup of popular concerts were held in public parks across the city and at the Arena Maurice-Richard, culminating in performances of Beethoven’s Ninth and Mahler’s Eight Symphonies at the Forum (hockey stadium), attracting an audience of some 30,000. During that same period, the Festival “Mozart Plus” was created at Notre-Dame Church, an epic cultural event that lasted some twenty years.
There were multiple televised concerts produced on both the French (Radio-Canada) and English (CBC) TV networks. Charles Dutoit and the OSM’s global success became the pride of Montreal and Canada.
A series of films by Rhombus Media was made in which OSM musicians and conductor also performed as actors.
Many famous composers were invited at the OSM: Messiaen (1978), Xenakis (1979), Isang Yun (1984), Dutilleux (1986), Lutoslawski (1993), Penderecki (1996), Theodorakis (1999) as well as numerous Canadian and American composers.
The dedication and outstanding quality of the OSM musicians led to an important commercial success. In 1994, for the 60th anniversary of the orchestra, Decca released a CD: “Montréal: Joie de Vivre”, celebrating the “More than 1,000,000 recordings sold in Canada.”
702 concerts
543 different scores from 153 composers
25 Carnegie Hall appearances
1991: Honorary Citizen of the City of Philadelphia
2011: Doctor of Music, Curtis Institute of Philadelphia
1991 to 2001: Artistic Director - Mann Music Center (Philadelphia)
1991 to 2012: Artistic Director - Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC)
2008 to 2012: Philadelphia Orchestra Chief Conductor
On July 14th, 1980, Charles Dutoit made his debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra. It was a major success and the commencement of a 32-year alliance. In addition to their yearly Carnegie Hall concerts, they made several international tours including Europe and its main festivals, Japan, Korea and China, on two separate occasions. They also recorded Rachmaninov’s Complete Orchestral works for Decca.
After a brilliant debut with the Boston Symphony in 1981, Charles Dutoit was invited to conduct the Chicago, New York, Cleveland and Philadelphia orchestras becoming one of the youngest conductors to lead the Big Five US ensembles in the same season.
This led to a 35-year collaboration as a regular and favorite guest of these orchestras:
159 concerts (including 60 at Tanglewood)
101 concerts
65 concerts
140 concerts
78 concerts
During his long standing career in the USA, he made multiple visits to other major US orchestras including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Washington National Symphony and the orchestras of Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Detroit, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, San Diego and St Louis.From 1983 to 1986, he was Principal Guest Conductor of the Minneapolis Orchestra.
Charles Dutoit went to South America for the first time in 1958 – a 36-day round trip aboard the SS Conte Biancamano – performing as a viola player with the Collegium Musicum Helveticum chamber orchestra in Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Brazil. Thereafter, he returned frequently to these countries as a guest conductor. Between 1977 and 1998, he visited South America with the Israël Philharmonic (1978), Jeunesses Musicales World Orchestra (1989), OSM (1991, 1998) and ONF (1996).
He also conducted regularly in Caracas and spent two seasons with the National Orchestra of Mexico. From 2003 to 2005, at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, he conducted several Wagner’s Operas: “The Flying Dutchman”, “Das Rheingold” and “Die Walküre”, returning in 2023 for Stravinsky’s “The Rake’s Progress”, “Honegger’s Jeanne d’Arc au Bûcher” and 6 performances of Mahler’s Symphony No 2 “Resurrection” in Romeo Castellucci’s production.
London has held an important place in Charles Dutoit’s career – performing, touring and recording with all of its orchestras including the London Symphony, London Philharmonic, English Chamber Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic – to forging a closer relationship with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Philharmonia. At the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, he also conducted several performances of Gounod’s Faust and Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann.
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) highlights:
1966: London debut at Royal Festival Hall
2009-2018: Artistic Director and Principal Conductor
1966-2018: 266 concerts in 27 countries
Since his debut on November 4th, 1966 at Festival Hall, he developed a long and fruitful relationship with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. They released their first recording for DGG in 1971 (Tchaikowsky piano concerto no 1 with Martha Argerich) and toured 27 countries in Europe, North America, and Asia, visiting China 6 times, as well as Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Philippines. Together, they enjoyed 2 residencies: from 2008 to 2014 at the Montreux Septembre Musical and at the Music International Summer Academy (MISA) in Shanghai for 3 years. Their dynamic partnership reached a pinnacle in 2016 at the London Proms, celebrating their 50-year collaboration, when Charles Dutoit received the coveted Gold Medal of the Royal Philharmonic Society, becoming the 103rd recipient since the medal was founded in 1870 in celebration of the centenary of the birth of Beethoven.
Philharmonia Orchestra:
Charles Dutoit also collaborated closely with the Philharmonia Orchestra from 1977 to 2008, spanning nearly 100 concerts across the United Kingdom and Europe complemented by numerous recordings.
Orchestre National de France (ONF) highlights:
1967: Paris debut at the ORTF with Itzhak Perlman as soloist
1991: Music Director until 2001
1996: First tour to China (performing the Chinese Premiere of Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring” in Beijing)
He and the ONF enjoyed many tours together and visited Europe, the USA, South America, Asia and South Africa. They were one of the first foreign orchestras to be invited to China in 1996. They released an impressive collection of Poulenc’s music, the Four Symphonies by Roussel, and works by Dutilleux, Chen, Bartok, Debussy, Lekeu, Ravel and Dvorak.
Aside from his activities with the ONF, he also performed and recorded with the Orchestre de Paris, the Nouvel Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio-France and collaborated with the orchestras of Lyon, Strasbourg and Bordeaux.
Charles Dutoit’s career began with the Bern Symphony in 1962. One year later, he was named Associate to Paul Kletzki and in 1967, succeeded him as Chief Conductor, a position he held until 1978. With the orchestra, he performed 135 concerts including 102 Premieres of which 30 were by Swiss composers. Between 1964 and 1967, he was also Principal Conductor of the Radio Zurich Orchestra and from 1967 to 1971, Associate Conductor to Rudolf Kempe at the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra.
Starting in 1975 until 1978, he served as Music Director of the Gothenburg Symphony in Sweden, simultaneously conducting all the leading Scandinavian orchestras.
In 1980, Charles Dutoit made his debut with the Berlin Philharmonic and in 1984, with the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra. Ever since, he has been a favorite guest conductor of all major European orchestras in Dresden, Hamburg, Munich, Budapest, London, Milan, Moscow, Paris, Rome, Vienna and has performed regularly at leading European Festivals such as the Bucharest Enescu Festival, Aix-en-Provence, Edinburgh, London Proms, Lucerne, Granada, Ljubljana, Prague Spring Festival, Salzburg, Moscow and Warsaw.
In 2019, he was invited by Yuri Temirkanov to become Principal Guest Conductor of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic.
1974 marked the beginning of a collaboration with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra that led to 77 concerts in Tel Aviv, Haifa, Jerusalem and a tour to Mexico, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Curitiba, Montréal and Toronto.
Japan Highlights:
76 visits to Japan
436 concerts
April 21,1970: debut with the Yomiuri Symphony at the Osaka World Fair with Lisa Della Casa and Aurèle Nicolet
September 4, 1987: debut with the NHK Symphony - appointed Principal Conductor in 1996, Music Director in 1998 and Music Director Emeritus in 2003
Charles Dutoit has been performing in Japan for more than 50 years. He has conducted most Japanese orchestras including the Osaka and New Japan Philharmonics, Saito Kinen and Sapporo Symphonies and toured extensively with the Hamburg NDR Symphony, Czech Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Boston Symphony, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Verbier Festival Orchestra, Orchestre National de France and seven times with the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal.
Following a successful European festival tour with the NHK Symphony in 1993, he became their Principal Conductor in 1996 and Music Director in 1998 – the first such position with the orchestra. In 2003, he was bestowed upon the title of Music Director Emeritus. They toured China, Korea, South-East Asia, the USA and Europe, visiting important festivals such as Salzburg, Berlin, Lucerne, Flanders and the London Proms.
Their partnership led to 264 concerts and commissioned works by many important composers:
Gubaidulina: In the Shadow of the Tree (April 14, 1999)
Tan Dun: The Gate (November 25, 1999)
Penderecki: Concerto Grosso (June 22, 2001), work later dedicated to Charles Dutoit
Liebermann: Variations on a theme by Mozart (October 5, 2001)
Hosokawa: Voice from the Ocean (February 20, 2002)
MacMillan: Symphony No 3 Silence (April 17, 2003)
All concerts were televised and several CDs and DVDs of Strauss, Tchaikowsky, Prokofiev and Stravinsky were released for Decca, Sony and King Records.
“Music Cities of the World”, a series of 10 documentaries were filmed by the NHK television between 1998 and 2000 with Charles Dutoit as narrator, presenting the musical, historical and humanistic aspect of different cities: St Petersburg / Vienna-Budapest / Berlin / Leipzig-Dresden / Paris / London / Venice / New York – New Orleans / Buenos Aires – Rio de Janeiro – Manaus / Tokyo
He was Artistic Director of the Pacific Music Festival (PMF, Sapporo) for 3 seasons and the Miyazaki International Music Festival between 2004 and 2009.
In 2025, Charles Dutoit made his 39th visit to China by performing the Chinese Premiere of the opera Wozzeck by Berg (October 11th in a concert version at the Shanghai Jaguar Symphony Hall and on October 18th as part of the Beijing Music Festival at the Poly Theatre, in a staged version).
1996: debut with Orchestre National de France in Beijing giving the first performance in China of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring
1998: first collaboration with a Chinese Orchestra (Beijing National Symphony) - rehearsals and concerts filmed by the NHK television
Numerous concerts at the Beijing Music Festival
First performances in China:
– Bartok: Miraculous Mandarin
– Berg: Wozzeck
– Britten: War Requiem
– Ravel: Daphnis & Chloé complete Ballet
– Strauss: Elektra
– Strauss: Salomé
– Stravinsky: Petrouchka (original version)
– Stravinsky: The Firebird (complete Ballet)
– Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring
– Violin concertos by Szymanowsky, Korngold and Stravinsky
Charles Dutoit traveled to China, Xinjiang and Tibet for the first time in 1986 as a tourist; 10 years later, his first professional concert took place with the Orchestre National de France. That was the beginning of a long and successful association with China that resulted in some 35 tours with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Boston Symphony, New York Philharmonic, NYO-USA, Verbier Festival Orchestra, NHK Symphony, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (six times) as well as his regular visits to the Shanghai Symphony, the Guangzhou Symphony and the China Philharmonic.
In 2005, with his wife Chantal Juillet and the highly-regarded conductor Long Yu, Charles Dutoit opened the Canton International Summer Music Academy (CISMA) in Guangzhou.
1974: First professional trip to Seoul
1981: First concert in Hong Kong and Taiwan with the Royal Philharmonic
1985: Hong Kong Arts Festival: 6 concerts with the OSM
1985: + 1989 + 1997: Tours of Korea and Hong Kong with the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal
1996: Tour with the Orchestre National de France (Korea)
2002: tour with the NHK Symphony Orchestra (Korea and Hong Kong)
2010: Tour with Philadelphia Orchestra (Korea)
2017: South-East Asian Premiere of Stravinsky’s “Chant Funèbre” with the Singapore Symphony*
2018: Tour with Saint Petersburg Philharmonic (Korea and Taiwan)
Other appearances in Hong Kong with the NHK, RPO, ONF, Verbier Festival Orchestra, NYO-USA, and several performances as guest conductor of the Hong Kong Philharmonic
* On February 16, 2017, with the Singapore Symphony, Charles Dutoit performed the South-East Asian Premiere of Stravinsky’s “Chant Funèbre”, a work composed in 1908 and performed only once in 1909 at a memorial concert for Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Stravinsky’s teacher. The work was then presumed lost and re-discovered in 2015. Charles Dutoit also presented the US Premiere with the Chicago Symphony, on April 6, 2017.
In 1977, following an invitation by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Charles Dutoit conducted all the country’s major orchestras: Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide. He then enjoyed many return visits to the Sydney Symphony, celebrating in 2017 their 40 year-collaboration, performing Debussy’s Opera “Pelléas & Mélisande”.
In 1970, during his first trip to South Africa, Charles Dutoit conducted the orchestras of Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg. In 1999, he toured with the Orchestre National de France and in 2013, with the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra, performed in Cape Town, Durban and Pretoria.
