At home in the beautiful, state-of-the-art Maison Symphonique de Montréal, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra delights listeners this April with Jean-François Rivest conducting the Franck Symphony, winner of the OSM Standard Life Competition, featuring principal bass Ali Yazdanfar (April 5 and 7), Kent Nagano conducting Brahms’ Fourth (April 13), and pianist Till Fellner and Beethoven’s Third Concerto, conducted by Kent Nagano (April 16-17).

In May, the new OSM chamber choir takes on medieval and gregorian music in Fauré & Duruflé: Two Requiem (May 5), closely followed by the great, award-winning virtuoso violinist Itzhak Perlman performing works by Mozart, Beethoven and Brahms on May 7. Families will love the Magic Horn (May 19), a story of a genie and his horn, told with exotic musical instruments. Surrealist music of the early 20th century, focused on the group of composers called Les Six, returns in Walton, Milhaud, Cocteau: Surrealism before its time (May 21), while David Zinman conducts Mahler’s Fifth (May 22-23) and Kent Nagano conducts the choral work of Paul Claudel and Arthur Honegger, Joan of Arc at the Stake (May 28, 30, and June 1).

Summer may or may not get going for real in June, but during the beginning of the month, it’s safe to say that it’s good to be able to make a quick escape from spring showers. See Simon Leclerc conduct  the popular group Mes Aïeux play songs from their repertoire and the music of Quebecois singer-songwriter Plume Latraverse, who joins Mes Aïeux June 5-6.

Along with the OSM, Montreal boasts another world-class orchestra, the Orchestre Métropolitan. This spring season, Artistic Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the orchestra present Verdi’s Requiem, featuring soloists and full choir on March 24 (plus a free conference in the foyer at 2 p.m.), Youth Spirit 2.0 with up-and-coming artists on April 25, and Nézet-Séguin conducts Strauss: 2 Orchestras, 1 Conductor, with Ottawa’s National Arts Centre Orchestra joining in on May 10. All concerts at the Maison Symphonique de Montréal.

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Sound snobs, this one’s for you. Yeah, you know who you are – and you’re proud of it. After visiting a Maison Symphonique de Montréal, the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal’s new Concert Hall, this week I can breathe a pitch-perfect sigh of relief. The place is tailor-made for those who believe acoustics can make or break any musical performance. So get ready for a lot of performances of the make variety…

Montreal has been waiting a while (30 years some say) for an orchestral concert hall this acoustically and aesthetically modern – just what Diamond and Schmitt Architects had in mind, creating a building that fits perfectly into the downtown core but with an elegance all its own. The foyers and even the stairwells in the OSM’s new space are all about letting light in and keeping it there – the outside walls are floor-to-ceiling glass, allowing for a great view of the Place des Arts terraces and surrounding big-city sights, a metallic, curving sculpture hangs from the second-floor ceiling, reflecting the light. We’re at once in the middle of downtown’s fast-paced action and in a calm oasis away from it all.

And the concert hall itself, co-built with acoustic-theatrical designers Artec Consults Inc. and engineering firm SNC-Lavalin, really is an oasis: its box-within-a-box structure uses rubber isolators to stop vibration from coming in. Done almost entirely in light wood (primarily beech), save for the acoustic-panelled ceiling, with light grey seating and plenty of fresh air, the hall seats over 2000 people, including the three balconies and a choral area behind the stage (open to audiences when not occupied by a 200-person choir, of course.) And just above the choral area hang some of the huge, asymmetrical pipes of the concert hall’s organ, a work of art in itself to be complete in 2014.

But let’s talk acoustics for a minute: the nine-part system of motorized reflectors is fully adjustable to the size and style of the performance, non-amplified or amplified, with motorized sound-absorbing fabric on the walls to further enhance the sound environment. Fancy. And it sounds awesome.

What would a state-of-the-art concert hall be without excellent programming and talent making it come alive? The OSM’s autumn programming is packed, stand-outs including OSM’s music director and conductor Kent Nagano and Messiaen’s Turangalîla-Symphonie (September 13–14), featuring pianist Angela Hewitt and ondes Martenot player Jean Laurendeau, as well as violinist Joshua Bell performing the Glazunov Violin Concerto and, headlining the Pro Musica concert on October 10, is violinist Pinchas Zukerman. For something a little different, pop punkers Simple Plan play with the Orchestra on September 20 and on October 5, singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright joins the OSM to perform songs by Berlioz, Shakespearean sonnets he has set to music and songs of his own.

Two of the world’s most prestigious orchestras visit this fall too: Mariinsky Orchestra of Saint-Petersburg with Artistic Director Valery Gergiev on October 22 and The New York Philharmonic with Music Director Alan Gilbert on November 4 and 5. Plan for the holiday season now as Ludovic Morlot conducts Holst’s Planets on December 6 and conductor John Oliver (director of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus) takes the reins of Handel’s Messiah December 21 and 22.

A

THE DETAILS

Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal at L’Adresse Symphonique

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(free pop) Music lovers have been flocking to the Pop Montreal festival for the past 9 years – and now we’re celebrating 10 whole years of the little fest that could! While most of the shows aren’t free (they’re pretty cheap though!), there’s plenty that is. The biggest free ticket is the outdoor Arcade Fire show at Places des Festivals on September 22, of course, but free shows are scattered here and there throughout the fest (at venues like Divan Orange, Le Pick-Up, Santropol and the Notman House), and there’s also an entire Pop Symposium free for the learnin’, with music and industry related talks and workshops throughout the fest, as well as Art Pop, including art from The Raincoats and Marcel Dzama, at POP Quarters (3450 St-Urbain) and at the SAT (1201 St-Laurent).

(outside art) Art and performance festival Escales Improbables launches its 8th edition on September 7 with a wide selection of music, dance, theatre and art installations at the Quays of the Old Port every day until September 11. Take an audio stroll around the world in installation La Babel Sonore, watch the live painting of Collective RGB, witness L’Ensemble Karel’s urban soundscape sculpture, listen to Nozen’s blend of jazz, modern music and traditional Jewish music, and more.

(photo op) Working with the theme of lucidity, the 12th edition of Le Mois de la Photo à Montréal (September 8 to October 9) sheds much-needed light on these dark times and shows us the world in all its shades of grey and bright colours alike. The international biennale event pushes the boundaries of what photography is capable of in its 25 solo exhibitions, outdoor installations and group shows by artists from Canada and around the world. Le Mois de la Photo launches with a free party and exhibition for all on September 8 at Arsenal (2020 William – corner of Canning and Notre-Dame W.), 6 p.m. and continues there and at local galleries, including several in downtown Montreal, Dazibao in the Cinematheque Quebecoise and, in the Plateau neighbourhood, Articule, Clark and Maison de la culture du Plateau-Mont-Royal.

(latin quarter flavor) OUMF, Montreal’s newest music, film and arts festival, takes place in the city’s Latin Quarter (on and around St-Denis between Ste-Catherine E. and Sherbrooke) until September 10. Along with public art installations, film screenings at the Cinémathèque Québécoise and National Film Board’s CinéRobothèque, every evening from 4 p.m. until late, there’s music in the street from local bands like We Are Wolves, Parlovr, Valleys and Random Recipe, and in the metro from Regroupement des Musiciens du Métro de Montréal. Also check out the urban-inspired work of graduate design students at UQAM’’s Place Pasteur. A few days later, on September 15 at noon, UQAM presents an outdoor performance by sound artists Jean-Pierre Gauthier and Mirko Sabatini at Place Émilie-Gamelin.

(literary minds) For lovers of both the French language and literature, Le Festival International de La Littérature has arrived, with readings, discussions, film screenings and more from Montreal, Quebec and around the world, September 16–25. While most of the festival’s literary events are reasonably priced to begin with, a handful are just plain free. From September 16-23, from 5–7 p.m. at the Cabaret des Terrasses Saint-Sulpice, there are poetry readings MC’d by José Acquelin and accompanied by live music. Le Grand Bibliothèque screens documentary films about major Quebec writers: Gallimard on September 18 and Gaston Miron on September 24. And on September 22 in the foyer of Place des Arts, choreographer and dancer Paul-André Fortier begins his 30-day in-situ work, Le Solo 30×30, with new contributions from 30 invited writers, taking place every evening at 5:15 p.m. until October 21.

(all that jazz) The Montreal Jazz Festival isn’t confined to a few fabulous summer weeks this year: starting September 16, the Bistro Le Balmoral turns into a late-night jazz club every Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 9 p.m. The first four weekends are like a mini jazz fest: Jean Félix Mailloux and Jérôme Beaulieu on September 16 and John Roney on September 17, the gypsy jazz of the Christine Tassan trio on September 22, Martin Tremblay on the 23 and Lou Boustani on the 24, a weekend of blues with Dan Livingstone on September 29, bassist Stephen Barry and guitarist Andrew Cowan on September 30.

(classical autumn) The Montreal Symphony Orchestra has a brand new home! Doors open September 8 at 2 p.m., with free guided tours of the concert hall and performances by emerging pianists, throat singers, a string orchestra, a contemporary ensemble as well as duos and trios from around Quebec. Tours and concerts continue September 9 at 12:30 p.m. and September 10. at 2 p.m. And the 13th Orgue et Couleurs Fall Festival of classical organ music runs September 23 to October 2, featuring free lunch-time concerts and reasonably priced evening concerts at churches, music venues, cultural centres around town.

(walk and run) Cheer on participants or be a participant yourself in Ca Marche, a walk to benefit people living with HIV and AIDS and break down social stigmas. Proceeds go to local organizations dedicated to the overall health and welfare of Montreal’s diverse communities. And on September 25, see the Oasis Marathon de Montreal, with long-distance runners from Montreal and around the world. The marathon starts at the Jacques-Cartier Bridge in Parc Jean-Drapeau at 8:30 a.m. and follows a winding course to Parc Maisonneuve, home of the Olympic Stadium and Montreal Botanical Gardens. If you’re an avid runner yourself, check out the Expo Marathon exhibition and market place at Place Bonaventure, September 22–24.

(open culture) At the very end of September comes Journees de la Culture (September 30 to October 2), a weekend of free activities around the city, celebrating the arts in Montreal, in tandem with celebrations across the province. Now in its 15th year, the community-driven festival promises even more, including an open invitation to musicians to play John Cage’s 4’33 outside at McGill’s Queen Victoria statue, a exhibition by Hans-Peter Feldmann at Cinémathèque québécoise, performances and workshops in art, dance, theatre, music and writing, and as always, open doors to almost all of the city’s galleries and museums.

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The  OSM’s  “Concerts In The Parks” series is not a new concept. In fact, they’ve been doing them since 1938, when the OSM’s first music director, Wilfrid Pelletier, made it a mission to use these openair events to build a bridge between the Orchestra and the citizens of Montreal.

For the 2010 edition, the OSM’s assistant conductor Stéphane Laforest will be reveling in the classical music of the American continents. Entitled “The Americas,”, the evening will feature music from George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein and Antonin Dvorák, as well besides presenting some of Astor Piazzolla’s tangos and some orchestral arrangements by Gilles Vigneault. With a 7:30 start time, these evenings are ideal for everyone- be it a family gathered together on a blanket or a group of friends looking to add a little class to the start of an evening out in Montreal. (PS- these events are happening rain or shine.)

Tuesday, July 27, 7:30 pm @ Park Maisonneuve: Located in Montreal’s east-end near the Botanical Gardens and filled with tons of paths and all sorts of things to discover, Park Maisonneuve is perhaps most easily accessed by getting off at the Viau metro stop.

Wednesday, July 28, 7:30 pm @ Terrebone/l’Île-des-Moulins : This beautifully preserved historic site just outside of the city is always hosting interesting cultural events- from tastings of the region’s wines to regular tango nights. Here’s how to find it.

Friday, July 30, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. Sorel-Tracy/Regard-sur-le-Fleuve Park: Given its location where St-Lawrence and Richelieu rivers meet, this park is truly one of the most amazing places near Montreal to get yourself a little nature. It’s bit more of a trip than the other two parks, but with activities ranging from cruises to canoe rentals to spa days, why not stay the night.

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