Following triumphant opening of San Diego’s newly renovated Jacobs Music Center with San Diego Symphony, Rafael Payare guest conducts NY Phil this week (Oct 23–25) and tours Europe with OSM and Daniil Trifonov (Nov 19–30)

(October 2024) — When Venezuelan conductor Rafael Payare – proclaimed “a fireball of energy onstage” and “a musician to watch” by The Wall Street Journal – inaugurated San Diego’s newly renovated Jacobs Music Center with the San Diego Symphony (SDS) last month, their performance and the new venue alike were roundly applauded, with The San Diego Union-Tribune declaring that the SDS “finally has a San Diego venue that permits it to sound like the world-class orchestra they’ve been since Payare took over.” Now Payare looks forward to his return this week to the New York Philharmonicto guest conduct a program of Tchaikovsky, Gubaidulina and Mozart with clarinet soloist Anthony McGill (Oct 23–25), and a European tour with his other major ensemble, Canada’s Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (Montreal Symphony Orchestra/OSM), along with pianist Daniil Trifonov (Nov 19–30).  This follows the October 11 release of Payare and the OSM’s third recording together on the Pentatone label, an all-Schoenberg album marking the occasion of the composer’s 150th anniversary. The conductor can be heard discussing the new album on a Gramophone podcast here.

Return to New York Philharmonic

Always in high demand as a guest conductor, this week Payare returns to the New York Philharmonic to lead Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto with soloist Anthony McGill, Tchaikovsky’s “Pathétique” Symphony, and Sofia Gubaidulina’s Fairytale Poem, inspired by Miloš Macourek’s The Little Piece of Chalk, an allegory of artistic perseverance​​​ (Oct 23–25). After Payare’s debut with the orchestra in fall of 2022, conducting Shostakovich’s Twelfth Symphony, a critic for The New Criterion reported:

“He almost physically enacted the symphony. To the music at hand, he always found ‘the gestural equivalent,’ as Maazel would say. He seemed connected to the music – physically, kinetically. This music can be unwieldy, but he made it orderly and compact, which was very effective. Above all, he exhibited leadership, which is perhaps the key ingredient in conducting.”

Orchestre symphonique de Montréal

Celebrated Russian pianist Daniil Trifonov joined Payare and the OSM in Montreal last month for performances of Schumann’s Piano Concerto and Beethoven’s First Piano Concerto as a lead-in to their upcoming European tour (Nov 19–30). Focusing on cultural capitals, the tour begins in London, where Javier Perianes will be the soloist for the Beethoven, and then proceeds with Trifonov to Luxembourg, Paris, Hamburg, Berlin, Amsterdam, Munich, and Vienna, with the pianist performing the Schumann and Beethoven concertos in repertory. The rest of the rotating repertoire comprises Iranian-Canadian composer Iman Habibi’s reflection on the climate crisis, Jeder Baum spricht(“Every tree speaks”), also composed to celebrate Beethoven’s 250th birthday; Berlioz’s Roman Carnival Overture and Symphonie fantastique; and Richard Strauss’s AnAlpine Symphony.

Payare and the OSM have also just released their latest album on the Pentatone label, a recording of Schoenberg’s Pelleas und Melisande and Verklärte Nacht marking the 150th anniversary of the composer’s birth. A passionate advocate for Schoenberg’s music, Payare serves on the Artistic Honorary Committee of Schönberg 150, dedicated to the worldwide celebration of the anniversary. Payare’s first Pentatone release with OSM offered “a reading of Mahler’s Fifth of intensity and rich orchestral exploration, a real marker in their ongoing partnership” (Gramophone). Reviewing the live performance of Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben and Mahler’s Rückert-Lieder captured on their second Pentatone album, Montreal’s Le Devoir raved: “What we heard yesterday is what we hear on record with the greatest. … It’s more than precious, it’s blessed bread, almost unbelievable.”

Raves for SDS and Jacobs Music Center

Payare’s tenure with the SDS and partnership with its CEO, Martha Gilmer, has seen the orchestra, and the cultural life of the city itself, go from strength to strength. A new milestone was achieved this season when Payare and the orchestra returned to their home concert hall, the newly renovated Jacobs Music Center, for their season-opening performance last month. San Francisco Classical Voice declared that “Payare thinks big, and fortunately he is allied with management that thinks likewise.” The San Diego Union-Tribune added: “It was all there to savor on Saturday: an increased dynamic range that permitted frightening fortissimos with hitherto unexperienced clarity and the quietest instrumental murmurs unimpeded by ambient hall noise. … Payare excels at injecting passion into the music, and on Saturday the give and take that he extracted from the orchestra made Mahler’s over-the-top score thrill.”

Rafael Payare: 2024–25 season engagements

Oct 23, 24, 25
New York, NY
Lincoln Center
New York Philharmonic
Sofia GUBAIDULINA: Fairytale Poem
MOZART: Clarinet Concerto (Anthony McGill, clarinet)
TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 6

Nov 6, 7
Montreal, Canada
Orchestre symphonique de Montréal
Paul Merkelo, trumpet
Gustavo Castillo, baritone
Philippe-Audrey Larrue-St-Jacques, presenter (Nov 7 only)
VILLA-LOBOS: Chôros No. 6 (Nov 6 only)
Gabriela ORTIZ: Altar de bronce, trumpet concerto
ESTÉVEZ: Mediodía en el Llano
GINASTERA: Estancia, Op. 8

Nov 13, 14
Montreal, Canada
Orchestre symphonique de Montréal
Bruce Liu, piano
Iman HABIBI: Jeder Baum spricht (“Every tree speaks”)
SCRIABIN: Piano Concerto in F-sharp minor, Op. 20
STRAUSS: Alpine Symphony, Op. 64, TrV 233

Nov 19–30
European tour with Orchestre symphonique de Montréal
Daniil Trifonov, piano (except Nov 19)
Javier Perianes, piano (Nov 19 only)
Iman HABIBI: Jeder Baum spricht (Nov 19, 20, 22, 27, 30)
BERLIOZ: Roman Carnival Overture (Nov 25, 28)
BEETHOVEN: Piano Concerto No. 1 (Nov 19, 20, 27, 30)
SCHUMANN: Piano Concerto (Nov 22, 24, 25, 28)
BERLIOZ: Symphonie fantastique (Nov 19, 20, 24, 25, 27, 28)
R. STRAUSS: Alpine Symphony, Op. 64, TrV 233 (Nov 22, 30)
Nov 19: London (Barbican Centre)
Nov 20: Luxembourg (Philharmonie)
Nov 22: Paris (Philharmonie)
Nov 24: Hamburg (Elbphilharmonie)
Nov 25: Berlin (Berliner Philharmoniker)
Nov 27: Amsterdam (Concertgebouw)
Nov 28: Munich (Isarphilharmonie)
Nov 30: Vienna (Wiener Konzerthaus)

Dec 6, 7, 8
San Diego, CA
Jacobs Music Center
San Diego Symphony
Inon Barnatan, piano
R. STRAUSS: Don Juan, Op. 20
SHOSTAKOVICH: Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Major, Op. 102
SHOSTAKOVICH: Piano Concerto No. 1 in C minor, Op. 35
R. STRAUSS: Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche, Op. 28

Jan 16, 18
Montreal, Canada
Orchestre symphonique de Montréal
Beth Taylor, mezzo-soprano
A. MAHLER: Five Songs
G. MAHLER: Symphony No. 6 in A minor, “Tragic”

Jan 23, 25, 26
Philadelphia, PA
Philadelphia Orchestra
Carolin Widmann, violin
RAVEL: Suite No. 2 from Daphnis et Chloé
SAARIAHO: Graal théâtre, for violin and orchestra
TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 6, “Pathétique”

Jan 31; Feb 1
San Diego, CA
Jacobs Music Center
San Diego Symphony
Billy CHILDS: Concerto for Orchestra (world premiere, commissioned by San Diego Symphony)
PROKOFIEV: Piano Concerto No. 3 in C, Op. 26
BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 3 in E-flat, Op. 55, “Eroica”

Feb 8, 9
San Diego, CA
Jacobs Music Center
San Diego Symphony
Chi-Yuan Chen, viola
STRAUSS: Tod und Verklärung, Op. 24
WALTON: Viola Concerto
BRAHMS: Symphony No. 2 in D, Op. 73

Feb 12, 13
Montreal, Canada
Orchestre symphonique de Montréal
Alisa Weilerstein, cello
OSM Chorus (Andrew Megill, chorus master)
PROKOFIEV: Sinfonia concertante in E minor, Op. 125
RAVEL: Daphnis et Chloé, M. 57

Feb 19, 20
Montreal, Canada
Orchestre symphonique de Montréal
Sergey Khachatryan, violin
TCHAIKOVSKY: Violin Concerto in D, Op. 35
SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphony No. 11 in G minor, Op. 103, “The Year 1905”

Feb 22
Montreal, Canada
Orchestre symphonique de Montréal
Marc-André Hamelin, piano
ANTHEIL: A Jazz Symphony
David SCHIFF: Stomp
John HARBISON: Remembering Gatsby, foxtrot for orchestra
GERSHWIN: Rhapsody in Blue

March 19, 22, 24, 27, 29; April 1, 4
London, England
Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
Sondra Radvanovsky (Turandot)
SeokJong Baek (Calaf)
Anna Princeva (Liù)
Adam Palka (Timur)
PUCCINI: Turandot

April 16, 17
Montreal, Canada
Orchestre symphonique de Montréal
Myriam Leblanc, soprano
Julie Boulianne, mezzo-soprano
Joé Lampron-Dandonneau, tenor
Robert Gleadow, bass
Jean-Willy Kunz, OSM organist-in-residence
OSM Chorus (Andrew Megill, chorus master)
BACH: Prelude and Fugue in B minor, BWV 544
BACH: Jesu, meine Freude, Motet, BWV 227
MOZART: Requiem in D minor, K. 626

April 23, 25
Montreal, Canada
Orchestre symphonique de Montréal
Anna Prohaska, soprano (Fiordiligi)
Michèle Losier, mezzo-soprano (Dorabella)
Matthew Swensen, tenor (Ferrando)
Florian Sempey, baritone (Guglielmo)
Jenny Daviet, soprano (Despina)
Thomas Hampson, baritone (Alfonso) and semi-staging
OSM Chorus (Andrew Megill, chorus master)
MOZART: Così fan tutte, K. 588

April 24
Montreal, Canada
Orchestre symphonique de Montréal
Kevin Chen , piano
MOZART: Piano Concerto No. 27 in B-flat, K. 595
MOZART: Fantasia for solo piano in C minor, K. 475
MOZART: Symphony No. 41 in C, K. 551, “Jupiter”

May 10, 11
San Diego, CA
Jacobs Music Center
San Diego Symphony
Alisa Weilerstein, cello
Unsuk CHIN: Cello Concerto
BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 7 in E

May 16, 17
San Diego, CA
Jacobs Music Center
San Diego Symphony
Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano
SAINT-SAËNS: Piano Concerto No. 5 in F, Op. 103, “Egyptian”
SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphony No. 7 in C, Op. 60, “Leningrad”

May 23, 24, 25
San Diego, CA
Jacobs Music Center
San Diego Symphony
Karen Cargill, mezzo-soprano
MAHLER: Symphony No. 3 in D minor

May 28, 29
Montreal, Canada
Orchestre symphonique de Montréal
Michelle DeYoung, mezzo-soprano
Nikolai Schukoff, tenor
Elisabeth St-Gelais, soprano
Andrew BALFOUR, Ian CUSSON, Ana SOKOLOVIĆ: Work for voice and orchestra (world premiere of OSM commission)
MAHLER: Das Lied von der Erde