Charles Dutoit, who was born in Lausanne in 1936, received a comprehensive musical education in violin, viola, piano, percussion, composition, and conducting at the Conservatories of Lausanne and Geneva. He completed his studies under Alceo Galliera in Siena and Charles Munch at Tanglewood. When he was only in his 20s, Herbert von Karajan invited him to conduct at the Vienna State Opera; Dutoit has since been involved in the opera world with engagements at the Royal Opera House in London, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Deutsche Oper in Berlin, Los Angeles Opera, and the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. For a quarter century (from 1977 to 2002) Charles Dutoit served as artistic director of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, shaping it into a world-class ensemble; the numerous recordings he made with the Orchestra have earned more than forty international awards. In 1991 Dutoit also took on the position of music director of the Orchestre National de France, which he held until 2001. Between 1998 and 2003 he was head of the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo. In 2008 he began his tenure as chief conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra, with which he has enjoyed a close relationship for three decades; after his current contract expires in 2012, he will be appointed conductor laureate of the orchestra. Since 2009 Dutoit has also helmed the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Verbier Festival Orchestra. As a guest conductor he has appeared with the major U.S. orchestras in Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, and Pittsburgh; in Europe he has partnered with the Berlin Philharmonic, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and the leading orchestras in London. Charles Dutoit is an honorary citizen of Philadelphia, a Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, and an Officier de l’Ordre du Canada.
LUCERNE FESTIVAL (IMF) debut on 23 August 1967 with the Swiss Festival Orchestra in works by Haydn, Chopin, Stravinsky, and Ravel.
August 2011