Montreal International Music Festival/Festival international de musique de Montréal

Montreal International Music Festival/Festival international de musique de Montréal

Montreal International Music Festival/Festival international de musique de Montréal. Society founded in 1985 by Philippe Turp, Pierre-Yvon Lavoie, and Louis Turp to promote classical music through concerts, master classes, round table discussions, conferences, and exhibitions. To give the festival a distinctive character and to ensure its continuity, the piano was chosen as the central theme of 12 events scheduled until 1999, with the crowning point being the International Piano Symposium to be held in the year 2000. The festival, which lasts about 10 days, has been presented annually during the month of September (in June, beginning in 1992). Its events are mainly held at the Chapelle historique du Bon-Pasteur and at the PDA. The first year (1988) emphasized the new generation of virtuoso pianists and the winners of international piano competitions. The second season (1989) developed the theme of 'Piano and Voice,' while the third year (1990) celebrated three anniversaries (Tchaikovsky, Paganini, and César Franck) under the theme 'Piano and Strings.' In 1990, some 160 artists and experts participated in over 60 events. There was no festival in 1991, but it was announced that thereafter its name would be the Montreal International Piano Festival. Among the Canadian musicians and ensembles featured in concert performances have been Michèle Boucher, Rivka Golani, Marc-André Hamelin, Angela Hewitt, Anton Kuerti, Louis Lortie, Kevin McMillan, Alvaro Pierri, the Atelier lyrique de l'Opéra de Montréal, the Morel-Nemish Duo, I Musici de Montréal, the Orchestre métropolitain, the MSO, and the Orford String Quartet. Great artists on the international scene have also been presented, including the pianists Lazar Berman, Aldo Ciccolini, Leon Fleisher, and Tatiana Nikolaeva, and the baritone Tom Krause. For its innovative contribution to tourism the festival was awarded the Ulysse trophy by Montreal's Société du Palais des congrès and Office des congrès et du tourisme in October 1989. The artistic directors have been Marc Durand 1986-9 and Richard Turp 1989-90, succeeded by Philippe Turp, who is also director general.