Bruce Liu with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal

A conductor of international stature and a Chopin gold medallist meet an orchestra of tonal elegance and power

Founded in 1934 and shaped by maestros such as Charles Dutoit, Zubin Mehta and Kent Nagano, the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (Montreal Symphony Orchestra) ranks among the world’s leading orchestras, with more than 100 recording awards to its name. Its current music director is Rafael Payare, the Venezuelan conductor who came up through the same El Sistema training that produced Gustavo Dudamel. Payare and the Orchestra’s first Carnegie Hall appearance in 2023 was described as among "the most marvelous performances in memory” by the New York Classical Review.

Joining Payare at the piano is Montreal’s own Bruce Liu, who claimed gold at the 18th International Chopin Piano Competition in 2021. A Deutsche Grammophon recording artist, Liu reunites with his home orchestra for Rachmaninov’s much-loved Second Piano Concerto. Closing the programme is Shostakovich’s Eighth Symphony, composed under the shadow of war. Scored for a large orchestra across five movements, it stands among his finest and most ambitious symphonic achievements.