The Montreal Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Rafael Payare. Photo source: Montreal Symphony Orchestra.
In Tuesday’s (3/31) Montreal Gazette, T’Cha Dunlevy writes, “Rafael Payare is starting to feel like a Montrealer. The maestro embarks on his fifth season at the head of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal this fall…. Originally from Venezuela, Payare and his wife, acclaimed American cellist Alisa Weilerstein, settled with their daughters in Outremont before moving to [Notre-Dame-de-Grâce neighborhood] last year…. Payare splits his time between Montreal and San Diego, where he is completing his seventh year leading the San Diego Symphony…. The OSM announced the programming for its 93rd season on Tuesday, a busy mix of classics, high-profile collaborations and contemporary fare. From works by Stravinsky, Shostakovich, Beethoven and Mozart to performances with Cirque du Soleil, Montreal hip-hop star Apashe and classical luminaries Renée Fleming and Lang Lang, as well as film-concerts, a night of tango and a return visit from [former Music Director Kent] Nagano, it’s a program that Payare says is much like his new hometown. ‘Montreal is very diverse,’ he said. ‘We are doing something in the image of the city.’… The programming, OSM violinist and concertmaster Andrew Wan opined, strikes just ‘the right balance of things we know well and challenges. It’s exciting.’ ”
