“Montreal maestro dazzles. In the 10 years since he took over the Montreal Symphony, Charles Dutoit has fashioned the Canadian orchestra into one of the finest and most versatile ensembles on this continent….The Bartok Concerto for Orchestra, for example, was as rousing a performance as New York has heard in years, a virtuoso demonstration of the range of the modern symphony orchestra – just as Bartok intended.”
– NEW YORK POST
– MARCH 24, 1987
“…this Pelléas of his is certainly the best modern recorded performance of this elusive masterpiece …I will go further and say that it is the best of all CD recordings of it.” The Gramophone, Opera, Debussy Pelléas & Mélisande
– DECCA, 430 502-2
– MARCH 1991
“In Schubert’s Second Symphony…one experienced a conductor who knows how to combine elegance and virtuosity with a sovereign musical sense.” – BERLIN PHILHARMONIC, BERLINER MORGENPOST
– DECEMBER 9, 1984
“The Tonhalle Orchestra reaches its peak performance under Charles Dutoit. The last Shostakovich symphony becomes a moving experience… Even the Berliners…could not deliver a completely convincing musical performance…Dutoit’s interpretation sounds more coherent, lively, and human—it becomes a touching life résumé.”
– ZÜRICH, DIE UHR TICKT
– OCTOBER 19, 2017
“À l’OSR, Charles Dutoit grand seigneur”
-CRESCENDO
– MAY 23, 2023
“…Dutoit, probably the best Berlioz authority worldwide among the current crop of conductors….plays with dazzling acute intelligence and carefully focused energy.”
– MUSIKFEST BERLIN, MÄRKISCHE ALLGEMEINE
– SEPTEMBER 6, 2011
Charles Dutoit, regarded as the greatest interpreter of the work in his generation.
– BERLIOZ DAMNATION OF FAUST) / HUFFINGTON POST /
– OCTOBER 26, 2017
“…this Respighi trilogy will stand out as a big, fat triumph for New York Philharmonic and Charles Dutoit. At the end of the evening, I was so lost in its splendor…”
– BACHTRACK – FEBRUARY 5, 2016, NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC AT GEFFEN HALL
“Cleveland Orchestra reaches musical heaven with ‘The Damnation of Faust’….Faust marks a highlight of the current season.”
– CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA, BERLIOZ DAMNATION OF FAUST, CLEVELAND.COM
– MAY 2015
“Each swell inundated the hall; the sound generated by the CSO with each sweeping, languid gesture from Dutoit was absolutely astounding.”
– THE CHICAGO MAROON
– MARCH 18, 2015
“Swiss maestro Charles Dutoit, one of the BSO’s most popular guest conductors since his debut with the orchestra in 1981, conducts his first performance of the season as Tanglewood’s 2016 Koussevitzky Artist – an honorary title reflecting the BSO’s deep appreciation for his generous commitment to Tanglewood and for his extraordinary 30-plus-year dedication to the BSO at Tanglewood, in Boston, and on the orchestra’s 2014 tour to China and Japan.”
– TANGLEWOOD
– AUGUST 12, 2016
“ Charles Dutoit was a wizard, conjuring up all the darksome effects of Bartok’s Duke Bluebeard’s Castle.”
– THE TELEGRAPH – BBC PROMS – CONCERT OF
– AUGUST 3, 2016
“It was good luck (“O Fortuna”) to hear Charles Dutoit conduct Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana – Latin set in Technicolor….Dutoit conjured an account that was nicely boiling, or simmering when slower – with much swagger, exuberance and beauty exposed; really quite sexy.”
– THE CLASSICAL SOURCE, LONDON SOUTHBANK CENTRE, FESTIVAL HALL
– MAY 31, 2016
“Dutoit stands nearly without peer in French repertory….”
– CHICAGO CLASSICAL REVIEW (CSO – FAURÉ REQUIEM)
– APRIL 14, 2017
“Dutoit’s command of the idiom is as complete and masterly as any of the greatest Ravel conductors of the past…. Clearly, this is already one of the milestones of the early digital era. …the Montreal Symphony sounds like nothing less than one of the greatest orchestras in the world.”
– RAVEL DAPHNIS & CHLOÉ
THE RECORD SHELF GUIDE TO THE CLASSICAL REPERTOIRE
LONDON 410 254-1
“Dutoit, the Lion, still reigns on the podium….still very much in his prime; he dwells in that elite category of those who qualify for professional lionization…According to the rock-star reception he enjoyed at the Liszt Academy on this night, it was clear that, for an audience hungry for musical depth and power in the symphonic realm, Dutoit was their man.”
– PAPAGENO, BUDAPEST,
– MAY 9, 2022
“Charles Dutoit, that master colorist……..”
– THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
– NOVEMBER 9, 2002
“…every note was gently caressed, deliciously pointed and sometimes teased and stretched, all with variant dabs of colouring, so that the total effect was a vast pattern of shimmering music.”
– BACHTRACK, SYMPHONIKER HAMBURG
– JUNE 29, 2019
“Ce Sacre fut celui du printemps, oui. Mais aussi celui de Dutoit!”
– STRAVINSKY LE SACRE DU PRINTEMPS, CONCERTONET,
– OCTOBER 28, 2022
“Dutoit and the RPO pull out all the stops. …showcasing the strengths of its Principal Conductor, Charles Dutoit. Dutoit has few rivals when it comes to refinement of orchestral colour…”
– BACHTRACK
– AUGUST 18, 2017
“…the listener could let himself be dazzled by Dutoit’s flawless precision work. He shined a light into the depths and nuances of the score…”
– DRESDEN NEUESTE NACHRICHTEN
– SEPTEMBER 5, 2011
“Dutoit, CSO make musical history with a belated Stravinsky Premiere….It was fitting that it fell to Charles Dutoit to be in charge of its important premiere. The Swiss conductor is one of our finest Stravinsky hands….”
– CHICAGO CLASSICAL REVIEW
-APRIL 7, 2017
“Not many conductors could have managed as much polish as conductor laureate Charles Dutoit….”
– PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
– MARCH 25, 2017 (BRITTEN WAR REQUIEM)
“ With their searing orchestral textures, works like this one are specialties for Dutoit. On the podium, the conductor has the contagious energy of a young man, leading with broad strokes and a careful eye to the phrasing of each movement. In “Venus,” he wove threads of melody into a soft web of sound…Dutoit crafted icy brass chords, prickly string sonorities, and golden harp strums into phrases that seemed to glow at a distance.” (Holst The Planets)
– THE BOSTON CLASSICAL REVIEW
– OCTOBER 21, 2016
“…there is no senior conductor I would prefer to hear interpreting Igor Stravinsky’s music with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra more than Charles Dutoit….Few conductors know more about what makes Stravinsky’s finely calibrated clockwork tick. Fewer still are better equipped to make that music speak with the clean-lined vitality that also was a hallmark of Stravinsky’s own interpretations of his music with the CSO, an orchestra he greatly admired and conducted on a regular basis over a period of 40 years….Dutoit and the orchestra made a dazzling curtain raiser of it.”
– THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE
– MAY 20, 2016
“Dutoit is a real maestro. He has a coherent and characterful conception of every work he conducts, and that he can transmit that conception through the medium of disciplined orchestral playing to his audience.”
-PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA, BERNARD JACOBSON
“The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is always at its best when playing for their principal conductor Charles Dutoit….Their latest concert together….was a wonderfully engaging affair, notable for the beauty of the orchestral sound as well as for the depth of Dutoit’s insights.”
– THE GUARDIAN, ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL
– MARCH 30, 2016E
“ In a sensational performance with the San Francisco Symphony under guest conductor Charles Dutoit….his podium work here often yields some of the orchestra’s finest playing of the season.”
-THE MERCURY NEWS – SAN FRANCISCO
– MARCH 11, 2016
“He is a true conductor who maximizes the potential of his musicians. Dutoit has it in his blood and down to his fingertips; his movements reveal sustained attention combined with a spirited play.”
– DIE WELT, HAMBURG
– APRIL 6, 1984
“…you do not become one of the most venerable conductors on the podium without picking up a lot of valuable knowledge along the way and it was the insight drawn from his long years of experience which shone through most vividly in this concert.”
-THE STRAITS – SINGAPORE
– JANUARY 24, 2016
“Dutoit has always had an innate sense of how to maintain momentum while taking in the scenery…Dutoit maintained a perfect aura of suspense in the mysterious final pages.”
– (STRAVINSKY PETRUSHKA) THE GAZETTE, MONTREAL
– FEBRUARY 18, 2016
“We welcome Swiss conductor Charles Dutoit, the last of the grands seigneurs of his arts.”
– WIENER SYMPHONIKER WEBPAGE,
-NOV. 2, 2015
“…le plus grand chef de l’histoire de l’OSM.”
– LE DEVOIR, MONTREAL
– JANUARY 9, 2016
“one of the world’s most sought-after conductors…”
– TIMES OF INDIA, MUMBAI
– OCTOBER 2015
“Dutoit possède un chic inné, dans le style et la façon de dérouler le discours. Fin conteur, habile séducteur, intraitable technicien. Un art du discours qui et de la forme qui s’épanouit avec les ans, et que l’OSR et le public dégustent sans retenue.”
– LE TEMPS, GENÈVE
– OCTOBER 30, 2015 (BERLIOZ LES TROYENS)
“These concerts with Dutoit have been instructive for both listener and orchestra for the care he brings to well-graded orchestral sonorities and majestic spacious pacing.”
– THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
– SEPTEMBER 10, 2015
“…intégralité des Troyens. Et la réussite exceptionnelle de l’entreprise est due à la baguette de Charles Dutoit, éminent berliozien…d’une énergie indomptable.”
– CRESCENDO MAGAZINE, GRAND THÉÂTRE DE GENÈVE,
-OCTOBER 21, 2015
“Friday’s program turned out to be one of the best played and most engrossing of the season. The BSO was honed to a fine finish by and for the forever-young Swiss conductor.”
– Berkshire Eagle – Tanglewood
– August 9, 2015
“…Dutoit, the grand master…Dutoit the showman? No, Dutoit the grand master, achieving his results with minimal means in a minimal masterpiece.”
– THE ARTS DESK – LONDON PROMS
– AUGUST 20, 2015
“Maestro Charles Dutoit’s frequent visits to San Francisco are always high points in the orchestral calendar here.”
– SFO CLASSICAL VOICE,
-JUNE 2, 2015
“Under Mr. Dutoit’s coaxing, the music unfolded at first in clear phrases, as if the protagonist was turning over thoughts in his mind. When things are jolted by bursts of ardor, the players, glued to Mr. Dutoit, vividly conveyed the music’s frightening intensity and blazing colors.”
– NEW YORK TIMES
– JULY 12, 2015
“The Cleveland Orchestra’s performance of Hector Berlioz’s La Damnation de Faust on Thursday evening, May 7 was an unforgettable experience.”
– CLEVELAND CLASSICAL
– MAY 8, 2015
“Few can equal the Swiss conductor in this repertoire, and Thursday night he showed his natural mastery once again, with the CSO musicians in top form. Dutoit’s Ravel has a spine.”
– THE CHICAGO CLASSICAL REVIEW
– MARCH 13, 2015
“Few, if any, living conductors are better suited to the task of making an orchestra (Chicago Symphony) long grounded in the Austro-German tradition speak with an authentic French accent than Charles Dutoit.”
– THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE
– MARCH 13, 2015
“When Charles Dutoit filled the leadership void at the Philadelphia Orchestra in 2008, he came to Washington for four consecutive years with that ensemble, always to great acclaim.”
– WASHINGTON POST
– FEBRUARY 22, 2015 – ORS
“Charles Dutoit, héritier d’Ernest Ansermet”
– 24 HEURES, GENEVA,
– FEBRUARY 10, 2015
“Dutoit, BSO opulent in rare Szymanowski opera….Charles Dutoit has championed this work internationally.”
– (SZYMANOWSKI KING ROGER) BOSTON GLOBE
– MARCH 6, 2015
“À Varsovie, Dutoit séduit…Dutoit possède cette faculté de faire de chaque pupitre une musique peaufinée et ciselée à l’instar d’un puzzle dont il assemble ensuite les pièces en un grand tout, une grande polyphonie dont il fait une symphonie, et “ça roule” en mode Rolls Royce.”
– CRESCENDO
– APRIL 14, 2014
“one of the great conductors on the scene today and his performances with the BSO over the last few years, especially, have been nothing short of revelatory….I’ve never heard this movement played more beautifully than it was on Thursday.” (Mahler Symphony No 5)
– THE ARTS FUSE, BOSTON
– APRIL 18, 2014
“Charles Dutoit, one of the first European conductors to visit China….conducting bold and dynamic…as if he has poured all his energy into the music…”
– CHINA DAILY
– JULY 5, 2013O
“…one of the best living exponents of the French repertoire….”
– LA TIMES
– MARCH 31, 2014
“Dutoit (casually known as Charlie) was a key part of the orchestra’s survival….he led the musicians in a playing-for-their lives European tour that knocked out audiences…. Dutoit has maintained a lofty artistic standard during a leadership crisis….in the wake of that, Dutoit was a godsend.
“ The Philadelphia Orchestra is going all out to acknowledge the contribution of Charles Dutoit…The orchestra owes him, big time. The musicians played splendidly for Mr. Dutoit on Friday night at Carnegie Hall…During the long ovation, there was a lovefest onstage…”
– THE NEW YORK TIMES
– MAY 20, 2012
“ The Swiss conductor Charles Dutoit has a reputation for working fast and knowing what he wants. As a noted orchestral colorist, Dutoit savored the first two sections of Debussy’s “La Mer”…
– THE LOS ANGELES TIMES
– FEBRUARY 24, 2012
“All the strengths of his three-decade rapport were in full view: his instinct for emotional pacing, an ear for when to draw the full power of a string sweep, his shorthand for communicating direction.”
– PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
– MAY 12, 2012 (STRAUSS ELEKTRA)
Dutoit needed no warm-up time to claim the orchestra as his own.
– THE INQUIRER – PHILADELPHIA
– MAY 14, 2012
“Maestro Dutoit’s account of Symphony Fantastique remains one of the endearing jewels in Decca’s CD catalogue….”
-(LONDON PHILHARMONIA ORCHESTRA)
WWW.DECCA.COM/DECCACONCERTS/NEWS, MAY 2007
“Dutoit and the orchestra have honed their partnership over almost three decades of music making….The conductor knows how to craft a dramatic performance, and the orchestra knows how to respond to his every wish.”
– COURIER-POST, PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA,
– MARCH 3, 2007
Dutoit needed no warm-up time to claim the orchestra as his own.
– THE INQUIRER – PHILADELPHIA
– MAY 14, 2012
“In New York’s Carnegie Hall and at home, the musicians of the Philadelphia Orchestra are radiating contentment…”
– THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER,
– MARCH 3, 2007
“Dutoit and the orchestra have honed their partnership over almost three decades of music making….The conductor knows how to craft a dramatic performance, and the orchestra knows how to respond to his every wish.”
– COURIER-POST, PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA,
– MARCH 3, 2007
“That Dutoit can as adroitly personalize Beethoven as he did is a sign not only of his own philosophy but also of his close rapport with these musicians.”
– THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER,
– APRIL 16, 2005
“In Dutoit’s hands, the enigmatic becomes lucid…a concert to be long remembered.”
– SHOSTAKOVICH 15TH, CSO, CHICAGO TRIBUNE
– APRIL 1, 2006
“….it was reassuring to have Charles Dutoit, one of the CSO’s most dependable guest conductors, on the podium…the CSO respects his rehearsal methods and enjoys playing for him.”
– CHICAGO TRIBUNE,
– OCTOBER 3, 2004
“CSO glows under Dutoit”
– CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
– OCTOBER 4, 2004
After Charles Dutoit’s departure from Montreal, “Tuesday’s performance made it painfully clear what the Montreal sacrificed: a strong character who stands out from the legions of generic conductors. Dutoit gave the Philadelphia Orchestra what the Montreal Symphony may now have a difficult time recapturing: the confidence to snarl.”
– WITH THE PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA, THE NEW YORK TIMES
– OCTOBER 2002
“No other conductor has quite the same relationship with the Philadelphia Orchestra as Charles Dutoit….at this point the musicians can pretty much intuit what he wants even before the request takes shape in the form of excitable scribbles in the air.”
– THE INQUIRER, PHILADELPHIA,
– FEBRUARY 13, 2004
Charles Dutoit “was recognized as one of the world’s most eminent conductors in 1964 when he conducted Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring” with the Berne Symphony from Switzerland… Dutoit has thereafter remained one of the faithful interpreters of this work.”
– CHINA DAILY
– APRIL 19, 1996
Charles Dutoit: “Baton Earl”
– MEDIA MONITORS, BULLETIN WITH NEWSWEEK, SYDNEY
– SEPTEMBER 11, 2001
“Mr. Dutoit’s Gallic sensibilities and approach to music have made him perhaps the day’s leading interpreter of the French repertory…”
– THE NEW YORK TIMES
– MARCH 31, 1990
Dutoit is not only the architect of the MSO’s sound but the founder of its international reputation…..Few orchestras are as tightly bound to their conductor in the public consciousness as is the MSO to Dutoit.”
– THE GAZETTE, MONTREAL
– DECEMBER 9, 1995
“…the podium charisma of Charles Dutoit.”
– OSM @ UNITED NATIONS, NY, THE MONTREAL GAZETTE,
– OCTOBER 24,1989
“What’s a critic to do when he has nothing to complain about? Wednesday night at the Hollywood Bowl, the Montreal Symphony, conductor Charles Dutoit and pianist Alicia de Larrocha gave a concert that heaped excellence upon excellence, leaving the poor critic without recourse to his usual adjectives.”
– THE L.S. HERALD EXAMINER
– AUGUST 5, 19895
“…Charles Dutoit and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra came into the Hollywood Bowl…for five straight nights. No other guest orchestra had ever played at the Bowl at such length, and few have made as dazzling an impression.”
– LOS ANGELES GAZETTE
– AUGUST 4, 1989
“This brilliantly performed and meticulously recorded account…goes to the head of the class along Boult (Angel), Karajan (DG) and Solti (London). In fact, it is probably the best bet around.”
– HOLST THE PLANETS / DECCA 417 553-1 / MUSIC MAGAZINE
– OCTOBER 1987
“….superlative recording of The Planets, which now seems to me to be the best available on both LP and CD, displacing Karajan’s on DG.”
– HOLST THE PLANETS / DECCA 417 553-1 / THE GRAMOPHONE
– APRIL 1987
“Oubliez tout cela!” (autres versions précédentes des Planètes de Holst). “Dutoit fait mieux encore, il irradie. Il nous éblouit; il porte un regard vraiment nouveau cette fois…Dutoit repousse le pompiérisme….Dutoit évite l’eau de rose….Dutoit s’amuse…..”
– HOLST THE PLANETS / DECCA 417 553-2 / DIAPASON HARMONIE
– APRIL 1987
“I feel that Dutoit has gone just a bit farther than other conductors in probing its fairy-tale core and in lighting its remarkable colours, and he’s persuaded every player to respond on the level of a shared vision.”
– STRAVINSKY FIREBIRD / DECCA 414 409-1 / STEREO REVIEW
– MARCH 1987
Charles Dutoit, “the new conducting star of the digital era,” as the New York Times put it.
– LOS ANGELES TIMES
– JANUARY 5, 1987
“Dutoit/Montreal combination has become one of the most successful collaborations in the world.”
– CHICAGO TRIBUNE,
– MARCH 27, 1986
“Charles Dutoit and his Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal have for several seasons now taken and held a place among the “hot” attractions in Carnegie Hall’s annual parade.
– OSM @ CARNEGIE HALL, THE NEW YORK TIMES
– MARCH 27, 1986
….the OSM “played sitting on top of the world, in full awareness that no one else can currently do this particular thing any better.”
– OSM @ BOSTON SYMPHONY HALL, BOSTON GLOBE,
– MARCH 25, 1986
“….there is nothing on the current musical scene to rival Dutoit and his orchestra in the repertory they have claimed as their own.”
– OSM @ SYMPHONY HALL, BOSTON GLOBE
– MARCH 25, 1986
“The charismatic conductor became a familiar figure on the Montreal scene, competing for popularity with city mayor Jean Drapeau, outspoken Quebec premier Rene Levesque, and even jet-setter prime minister Pierre Trudeau….The MSO was no longer a white elephant; it had become the proud flagship of Montreal’s fiery cultural life.”
– DIGITAL AUDIO
– JANUARY 1986
“The Montreal Symphony is currently one of the hottest recording stars, thanks to the accomplishment of its music director, Charles Dutoit.”
– THE BOSTON GLOBE
– MARCH 20, 1986
“Dutoit rejoint Karajan par la somptuosité de la réalisation, les couleurs chatoyantes qu’il obtient de son orchestre.”
– HONEGGER SYMPHONY NO 3 AND NO 5 / ERATO NUM 75 117/ DIAPASON
– JUNE 1984
“As the one who first dubbed this band (Montreal Symphony) – 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.”
– THE GUARDIAN, EDWARD GREENFIELD
– 1984, BARBICAN
“Dutoit, l’homme par qui le triomphe arrive”
– LE MATIN TRIBUNE, SUISSE
– MARCH 31, 1984
“Charles Dutoit nous a offert l’une des plus belles exécutions de cette oeuvre (Symphonie Fantastique de Berlioz), peut-être la plus belle qu’il m’ait été donné d’entendre depuis la disparition de Charles Munch.”
– OSM @ THÉÂTRE DES CHAMPS-ÉLYSÉES, LE FIGARO, PARIS
– APRIL 12, 1984
“Le critique (Halbreich) cite les enregistrements de Monteux, Munch, Cluytens, Dorati, Martineau, Ozawa, Abbado et Boulez et conclut: “Tous doivent désormais s’incliner devant celui de Dutoit, poète d’une ampleur lyrique admirable.”
-BERLIOZ, SYMPHONIE FANTASTIQUE, DECCA / LA PRESSE, MONTRÉAL
– OCTOBER 17, 1981
“Dutoit, nous le savons maintenant, est devenu un de ces très grands.”
-DIAPASON
– OCTOBRER 1981
“Cette grandeur attique doublée d’une éloquente réserve, nous la devons à Charles Dutoit…A Charles Dutoit en revient l’honneur.”
– FAURÉ PÉNÉLOPE, ORCHESTRE PHILHARMONIQUE DE MONTECARLO, ERATO, DIAPASON
– SEPTEMBER 1981
“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.”
– EDWARD GREENFIELD
– JUNE 1981
“…the Montreal orchestra provides us with arguably the best Falstaff we have yet on record.”
-ELGAR CD / DECCA 430 241-4 /
“Dutoit, parvenu à la pleine maturité de son talent, est désormais l’un des “grands” de notre époque.”
– HARMONIE 111/66